3 Simple Hacks for Firing Employees
Three important things to think about as a manager before you have to let someone go from your organization.
Key Takeaways
It is important for managers to have the proper training so they go into these conversations with confidence and know exactly how to handle it.
One of the best phrases that you can repeatedly say while terminating an employee is: “I know this is difficult news to hear.”
Take the time to think about how they might react, you will feel more prepared going into those conversations.
It's a very difficult thing to have to deliver that message of, “you're no longer part of this company.” But as a manager, you can prepare effectively by thinking about these three key things:
The first is to expect emotional reactions.
This is a very difficult message for the employee to hear. It's never an easy situation so you should assume that you're going to experience emotional reactions from your people. As a manager, what you can do to prepare for this is to think about each of your individual employees and how they've reacted to emotional situations in the past. You can then assume that they may act similarly in this emotional situation. Now, that being said, we never know what's going to happen when it comes to delivering that kind of message. Take the time to think about each of those employees, and how they might react, you will feel more prepared going into those conversations.
The second thing to think about is knowing the right phrases to say.
When it comes to delivering this message, there are things that will help make the message go through smoothly, as well as things that will hinder that process. One of the best phrases that you can say throughout the message is: “I know this is difficult news to hear.” Saying this conveys a sense of empathy, a sense of understanding, but it doesn't commiserate with the employee or go down a negative train of thought. On the other hand, if you say something like, “you know, you have every right to feel how you do I totally understand I would be upset too” can tend to bring the conversation down a negative path. By saying something such as “I know, this is difficult news to hear” you're keeping things focused. You're conveying empathy to the employee, but you're not going down sort of these alternative paths, which aren't going to help the conversation be effective.
The third thing that you want to think about is training your managers.
We assume that HR professionals and managers know how to handle these conversations. But the fact of the matter is, many have not done this before in their career. This may be the first time they are laying off an employee. As leaders within your organization, it's important to provide the proper training to them so that they can go into these conversations with confidence and know exactly how to handle the situation. When it comes to an effective firing process, training is critical and knowing how to move on from there and fire more employees in the future.