Letting People Go With Dignity:

Fire People Nicely: It's Good for Them and It's Good Business

Few workplace situations are dreaded more than a face to face meeting to break the news that an employee is being dismissed. Regrettably, the termination process is given far less attention than the hiring process. But there has been a trend in the last few years to correct this imbalance for the very simple reason that there is now much more "built‑in" turbulence in the workplace than there was only a few years ago.

My goal here is to identify practices that we on the Employment Roundtable believe benefit the parties involved, both employee and employer. Put yet another way: the termination should be handled in such a way that both the employee and the organization are empowered to go forward.

Why Should the Employer Care?

1.Termination with dignity increases the organization's ability to hire the right people.

Today's labor shortage is expected to continue at least through the next decade. An organization's ability to attract the best talent is influenced by its goodwill in the marketplace, which depends to some extent on how it handles terminated employees.

2. Termination with dignity is becoming a routine part of doing business in a civilized society.

Dignified termination should be seen as one of many benefits provided by the employer. The movement in this century toward expanded and increasing employee benefits reflects an understanding of the "social contract" or “social covenant” — accepted standards as to what is decent for ordinary working men and women.

3. Termination with dignity protects corporate profitability.

Such termination policies do protect corporate profitability. An organization's good name is an asset not to be squandered. It is in management's interest that:

· people still believe that "this is a good place to work,"

· employee energy and focus be put into work and productivity and

· venting and complaining be kept to a minimum.

Before the Meeting

Because preparedness is vital, termination procedures must be imbedded in written policy and, in the course of time, instilled in the organization's culture. Enlightened organizations have long trained managers to improve their hiring and interviewing skills. The same degree of training should be given to managers for the hard task of letting people go.

"The package"

The quality of the package is measured by the extent to which the individuals are able to move forward

professionally and personally. Termination with dignity presupposes that "the package" will include severance pay and career counseling.

Smaller organizations often cannot afford extensive packages. When choices have to be made on the basis of cost, it is usually more beneficial to provide employees with ongoing career counseling until the individual is re-employed (rather than, for example, short‑term career counseling along with expensive space and other support services).

During the Meeting

During the meeting, manager and employee are face to face. The employee has just received

life‑changing news and is concerned about the following:

· The employee wants to know "why has this happened to me?"

· The employee is listening for a kind word about past performance.

· There is the matter of pride: how will the departure be portrayed to the remaining workforce?

· How am I going to survive? Have available full written summaries of severance benefits.

· Discuss other issues, such as professional references, so the employee can formulate a strategy to move for‑ward.

· Allow people to return to familiar surroundings and share reactions with friends — to proceed with some degree of normalcy.

Shock and panic can be reduced if people leave the manager's office with some sense that they are not

really on the edge of disaster, that a support system has been put into place.

After the Meeting

For years conventional wisdom has held that references can translate easily into lawsuits, with the result that most organizations do little more than verify dates of employment and forbid managers to respond to requests for references. The result, of course, is that information is sought informally and travels by grapevine — increasing the chances that hearsay or rumors can damage reputations and careers. It has been shown that offering references does not put organizations at risk. The New York Times (February 21 1999) reported the following:

According to C. Patrick Fleener, a management professor at Seattle University, "the fear of being sued and losing is not well founded." Professor Fleener, co-author of a study of Federal and state court records nationwide from 1965 to 1970 and 1985 to 1990, found only 16 defamation cases arising from reference checks. And plaintiffs prevailed in only 4 of the 16, he found.

We think it is worth the effort to reinvent strategies on references and convey good news about people to prospective employers. Even people who are fired for performance deserve to have their good points preserved in the record.

Making it a Reality

Further study, research and consultation among leading executives should be undertaken to consider

Strategies for implementation. Termination with dignity should take its place as a benefit, along with others, to maximize the effectiveness of the workforce and to respect human dignity.

Richard C. Bayer is the Chief Operating Officer for The Five O'Clock Club Inc., a national career

counseling organization. He is co‑chair of The Employment Roundtable, and a member of the Board of Directors for Workforce America, a not for profit career counseling organization located in Harlem. Richard C. Bayer, Ph.D. The Employment Roundtable 300 East 40th Street ‑ Suite 6L New York, NY 10016 Tel. 212‑286‑9502, Fax 212‑286‑9571 Email: Bayer@fiveoclockclub.com