Terminating employees in a small company can be tough

Author: Venus Dean-Bullinger    Posted: July 18, 2016

I’ve been talking to many of my friends and colleagues that are small business owners.  Many of them are the Owner, CFO, CEO and HR all rolled into one.

That can be a difficult position for one person to be in; especially in a small company.  Many small business owners have a difficult time when it comes to terminating employees.  So I did some research and found some helpful steps that may make it a bit easier to be fair and transparent when you have to terminate an employee.

 

1. Have a transparent termination policy: If it is in your company handbook, there can be no questions about what may lead to a termination.
2. Start documenting the issue as soon as you see a pattern: Be careful about what and how management discusses the issues.
3. Decide if your employee is part of a “Protected Class”.  There may be different rules and regulations that need to be taken into consideration.
4. Schedule the last meeting and make sure you have all paperwork to include information on any benefits and last paycheck.
5. Have the employee’s manager, or your H.R. staff lead this meeting.  Keep it simple and to the point (don’t prolong the discussion).
6. Treat the person with dignity and respect.  Allow them time to pull themselves together before ushering them out.
7. Be sure that the employee’s electronics, keys, and security card are all secured or disarmed before they are escorted off the premises.
8. Allow the employee options of cleaning out their workspace: Before or after business hours.

 

Hopefully these few suggestions will assist you through a very difficult ordeal.     Rapport also has quite a bit of documentation that you can use in this process. Just ask us about it!