After the Termination

I posted recently about terminations. In the comments, Scott offered "...and never forget every person that is terminated has a number of friends still in the business waiting to become workplace dementors if you are not seen to be doing the right thing!"  

This started me thinking, "what happens in an organization after a termination." The employee is gone. HR puts the evidence file away, closes the personnel folder and the vacant position filled. Is that it? These may be the process actions we take, however, the effects of a termination do not end there. The terminated employee is effected. The supervisor of the terminated employee is effected. The co-workers of the terminated employee are effected. In the end, the organization may  very well be effected.

I am curious. How have terminations, or a specific termination, impacted you or your organization? Have you or your organization taken any proactive, conscious steps to mitigate potential negative effects? What have you had success with?

Let me know.

Comments

[Catherine]

It has been my experience that if the employee "deserved" to be terminated (e.g., complacency, illegal activity, incompetence), it will come as no surprise to their peers, regardless of whether or not they were friends. In many cases, it will be seen as only a matter of time.

On the other hand, if an employee is fired due to personality differences with their manager, there is a negative effect on morale because of the perception (or reality) of power. This is magnified if the manager is perceived to be lacking in capability.

Also in my experience, managers are almost never fired (laid off maybe) - employees are. This needs to change in order to alleviate "us versus them" mentalities. It would save companies so much money and strengthen what has already become an almost total lack of loyalty environments.

[p-nut]

Any termination needs to be done sensitively. Generally, one gets respect if one gives respect and all people need to be treated with dignity even when their chips are down and they are on their way out. Its a small world after alll. Of course if one is being difficult then its only fair that the favor be returned.

[HR Maven]

We do quite a bit with the manager/supervisor/department when an employee is terminated for cause. Since termination has a such an affect on people left behind, we do our best to coach the manager/supervisor/director on working with his/her department.

We have discovered if communicate directly with the staff, without violating confidentiality and leave the door open for questions, that it helps a ton.

It still can leave people uneasy but with a plan and open doors, it has helped immensely.

[The Career Encourager]

I agree completely that how terms are handled - be they layoffs due to business downturn or true terms for poor performance - affects others in the workplace. In my career I have done a lot of consulting around term issues and I push this issue hard. I am good at convincing Managers/Executives to slow down the train and think through an organized, logical, compassionate process. I keep reminding them, I know this is hard, and you want to get it over with, but months from now you will feel much better about your leadership skills if you can be patient through a decent process.

For example, it is so so easy (and frankly, it's cheap in the long run) to make an employee's last day after the first of the next month so they don't have to face the benefits issues for a few more weeks. Even if you ask them to be offsite immediately, keeping them on payroll and in benefits for a few more weeks makes world of difference!

It is so rewarding when Managers tell me later - "I didn't want to do it that way, but in retrospect I am so glad I did." Or when an employee says, "I'm sorry XXX is gone, but I know you guys worked hard to do the right thing..." I've even had people who are laid off tell me, "I hate what you're saying, but I can tell you want to do the right thing..." Believe me - Managers and employees alike notice the difference!