by Wahidabi Sulaiman

Created on: July 23, 2009

If you are in a compelling state that you need to terminate a particular employee, something has gone wrong during the selection process. This is true if we are talking about the termination of a new employee. However, you may be faced with a situation where you may need to terminate an employee who had been serving the organization for a very long time.

Whatever the situation, you need to keep a few points in mind in order for the process of termination would be smooth and effortless. All the more, the termination should end on a positive note. This should be so because the employee getting terminated could be either a good marketing personnel for your organization or a bad one that ruins the reputation of your organization once he is out of his present employment.

Always remember to document everything that is agreed upon and communicated to the departments involved and the employee as well. This would ensure that all loose ends are tied and you are able to defend your decision to terminate the employee. This would ensure that the organization is in good standing should the employee seek legal action

Ensure that all your documents are in order. Termination should have been a result of a serious of offences which should be supported with warning letters. If the decision to terminate is immediate, the reason should be a strong one and should follow the guidelines from the company policy. This should be in writing and should have been made easily available to all employees so that they are aware that such acts would garner immediate termination. My advise would be to include a copy in the staff booklet that you would hand over during orientation.

Protect your company data. This should be priority if the employee has had access to confidential information. No chance should be given to the employee to delete or tamper with the organization data or make copies. Always ensure that one HR Personnel is always with the employee until he clears his things from his table and till he completely leaves the organization. This should be done discreetly and should not put the employee on defensive. Always communicate your intention clearly and state that it is the company practise which you are following.

Respect the employee and his emotions, whatever the reason for termination. All employees have the right to be treated with respect and their information kept secret. Therefore, keep mum on matters that should not reach the wrong ears and this would not make the employee feel embarrassed in front his fellow colleagues. This is especially necessary if you do not want to get yourself or your organization into trouble once the employee is out of the organization. Therefore, remember that you should act in a professional manner and advocate confidentiality in such matters.

Revise your selection process every now and then. And ensure that the expectations of the organization of the employees are communicated effectively to them when they join so that all are on the same level of communication. This would at least minimize the amount of termination that would arise, especially so for new joining employees.

Learn more about this author, Wahidabi Sulaiman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.