HR jobs are not easy to steer through and the human resources termination duties are likely the worst part of the role. An employee’s termination at work can happen for multiple reasons, but regardless of cause the HR role in the termination process is essential and non-negotiable, as they possess the knowledge as well as the skill set to handle the task most efficiently. Due to the uncomfortable nature of the task though, we often shy away from discussing what it involves, choosing instead to focus on the hiring and administrative responsibilities enthusiastically instead. This leaves many professionals entirely unprepared when the employee termination policy suddenly comes up and they have to initiate the unfortunate process.
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Human Resources Termination—Should You Terminate an Employee?
Establishing HR rules for terminating employees and ironing out all the issues within the process is a necessary step for companies to run without a hitch. Even before reaching the employee termination stage, it is useful for companies to do what they can to retain the employee if there are no serious violations the employee is being fired for. Employee Benefits News reported that it can cost employers up to 33 percent of an employee’s salary to hire a replacement. According to a report in the Center for American Progress, finding a replacement for a senior position could rack up to 213 percent of the exiting employee’s annual salary.
Additionally, wrongful termination lawsuits don’t occur too frequently due to the “at will” employment status of employees but, if enforced, could cost employers a lot of money as well. The reported average settlement cost for such a lawsuit in California is $40,000, but it could range anywhere between $5,000 to more than $100,000, according to Workstream. While considerable, the expenses of firing an employee are not the only thing to consider. Employee termination can be very damaging to the morale of other employees, it can affect the pace of work and interrupt projects to very extreme degrees, it can require the HR to divert resources better invested in employee well-being and retention activities, and damage the public reputation of the company.
However, it is quite difficult to forbid companies from considering human resources termination processes as the only alternative when necessary. Whether it is repeated rule violations, inappropriate workplace behavior, discriminatory actions, consistently poor performance, or even a company-wide layoff requirement, sometimes employee termination is inevitable. Companies need to determine their employee termination policies that are firmly set in place, shared with all employees, and utilized when necessary.
HR Rules for Terminating Employees
If the first response to an employee making an error is termination then there is clearly a long way for the company to go, in order to have any employees at all. If twenty infractions later an employee is still employed at an organization with no effort to improve the workplace later, again, the company is going to remain far from being at its productive best. It is also unfair for employers to fire only certain employees and retain others with similar performance and conduct, opening businesses up to accusations of discrimination. Companies need to work with their human resources department and plan for termination in advance, to ensure every employee receives a fair chance to build their career at an organization.
Establishing HR Rules for Terminating Employees
Employers and management need to work on establishing the HR role in the termination process at an early stage of the organization’s inception. The stages of the employee review and reasonable consequences need to be planned for, to ensure there are no issues that occur later. From alerting employees to issues to completing the exit interview, every step needs to be accounted for.
- Establish problem areas that managers and HR leaders are to look out for
- Consider legal guidelines, including state legislations, that exist to protect employees—policies must always be framed in compliance with them
- Look at other organizations in the industry and determine the standard if necessary
- Determine what are hard boundaries for the organization and what the more flexible terms are—take a firm stance on important issues instead of leaving the policies vague
- List the stages of escalation—review with the manager, review with HR and PIP plans, behavior correction programs, mandatory counseling, suspensions, employee termination, etc.
- Create multiple drafts of the employee termination policy to get it right
- Establish channels for recording policy violations so every incident can be recorded efficiently
- Use external reviewers to check the effectiveness of the established policy
- Create clear written documents that can be shared with employees so they have a record of the policies as well
- Use legal assistance if necessary to ensure all policies are framed as clearly as possible
Documentation Provides a Framework
Ensuring there is documentation of the HR rules for terminating employees is obviously important, but it is also necessary to maintain documentation of an employee’s time at an organization. Ineffective data tracking can get an organization in trouble later when they cannot prove that they provided an employee with a warning or took any corrective action before proceeding with the termination proceedings through human resources.
- Maintain a record of the employee’s documentation right from the hiring date—past employment, contact details, references, etc. These provide a good starting point for the employer-employee collaboration
- Ensure the employee’s terms of employment are clearly stated and maintain a written record of the agreement
- Track employee performance regularly and maintain a record of all the evaluations that are conducted
- Ensure that any complaints against an employee are recorded and referred to when necessary but be fair in the review to ensure that there is legitimate evidence of violations
- If there are conflicts within the organization, mediate fairly and ensure all parties are held accountable
- Maintain a record of any corrective meetings that are held with the employee and the changes that are recommended—ensure these are reasonable and that a timeline is fixed to track progress towards the goal
- Take employee input into consideration and provide the assistance they require to make a change
Communicate with Employees—HR Role in Termination Process
An employee can never make improvements to their performance if they are never informed about the problems with their work. A sudden termination announcement from human resources can take an employee and his team by surprise and be an overall negative experience for everyone. A part of the HR role in the termination process is to communicate consistently with the employee.
- Right from the hiring stage, ensure that you contact employees regularly and check in on their time at the company
- When a problem is registered, get a clear understanding of the issue and then schedule a meeting with the employee
- Discuss the issue and gather insight on the employee’s issue on the matter
- Determine a corrective course of action and set milestones to track progress
- Schedule meetings with the employee’s manager to get additional insight into the issue
- Meet with the employee and track the employee performance update or mandated behavioral changes
- If the employee is not able to match up to the expectations of the organization, have an honest conversation about alternatives—working in a different position, demotion, additional training hours, or eventual termination
- Do not use abusive, accusatory language and only focus on the mismatch between the employee and the employer
- Provide a clear timeline of the employee termination and reiterate the employee termination policy—if they are eligible for a severance package according to their contract, this should be explained as well
- Ensure the news of the termination comes from human resources and not colleagues or gossip around the office
- Allow the employee to establish how to communicate news of the termination to colleagues
- Assist the employee in the handover process and offboarding requirements of the organization—any security clearances might have to be revoked and sensitive material collected from them
- Conduct an exit interview to gather feedback and try to ensure the employee leaves on good terms
The HR role in the termination process extends to ensuring all the documentation is complete and any remaining payments are made to the employee in a timely manner. The HR team needs to be prompt with calculating what the employee is owed, including the transfer of any health care policies they were covered under. The Human resources department also needs to ensure that the termination process does not hold up any chances of future employment for the employee, so documents like recommendation letters, resignation documents, etc. should be handed over to the employee before they leave.
If the employee is exiting on good terms and there is the option of rehiring at a later stage, make the offer to the employee. It might be unlikely for the employee to consider rejoining the company’s workforce after undergoing the termination process, but if the parting is mutual, there is always room for rehiring a capable employee. Letting go of an employee is never easy, but considering these details can make the process much easier for everyone involved.