by The Reflective One

Created on: February 24, 2007   Last Updated: April 21, 2011

This article assumes the following:

1. You have already counseled this person and given them an opportunity to meet your expectations

2. You have consulted with your Human Resources and/or Legal Department, and there is concurrence that termination of employment is the appropriate course of action

3. You feel very comfortable that you would terminate ANY of your employees if they had done (or failed to do) the same things as the individual in question.

4. The employee is being terminated for performance matters and not violent or threatening acts. If there is a concern about violence, contact your corporate security team and HR.

5. You understand that your company's HR policies and/or legal counsel supersede any of the information in this article. This is purely based on my experience, and is for informational purposes only.

Prepare for the meeting

In many cases, a termination can be an emotionally charged event. It is an act of rejection on both the part of the manager and the employee. In many cases, by the time it gets to the point where the employee is to be terminated, the manager will have strong opinions about the employee and their performance. This is a very natural and human response.

It is critical that the manager knows exactly what he or she is going to say in the meeting. I strongly recommend practicing in advance so you can hear how the words sound before the employee is sitting in front of you. Because this is often a very difficult conversation, it is even more important for the manager to have the dialogue scripted and remain in control.

It is also critical that you have someone else in the room with you during the meeting. Make sure you consider this when you are determining the time and place of the termination. This is important for two reasons: it provides a witness to the conversation in the event there is litigation because of the termination, and it provides a deterrent to overly dramatic (or even violent) behavior on the part of the terminated employee.

You and your witness or co-facilitator should carefully plan who will do the talking and what will be said in the meeting. I strongly recommend that one person does the talking and the witness/second person takes careful and copious notes on the proceedings. Plan these activities in advance.

Set up the location

It is best to choose a location that is convenient for you, the witness, and the employee. If a conference room or office is used, there should not be any windows where other

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