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D-day

Nobody likes it.  Obviously not the person being fired.  Nor the manager who has to do the dirty work.  But don’t forget all the remaining employees – those who worked with the individual day in and day out for who knows how long.  And then even the employees who may have not known the individual but feel a sense of sadness nonetheless to lose a team member and know that someone just lost their job – their livelihood.

It just feels bad.  No two ways about it.

So how do you deal with the aftermath?

First and foremost, gather together all the employees who knew this individual for a 5 minute touch-base IMMEDIATELY after the fired employee leaves the building.

This does several things –

  • If you wait, the gossip will grow at an alarming rate.  (Is the company in trouble financially?  Who’s next?  Oh I think it’s John.  Really? I’m thinking probably Joan because she…) And if you even pause to calculate the cost of a 5 minute meeting times 50 employees – think of the cost of many hours spent in the gossip Bermuda triangle.
  • Also you want ALL the employees who knew the individual so that everyone hears the same message.
  • And lastly – you want to do this face to face, not via e-mail.  It shows that you are compassionate and understand and have empathy for the impact on this individual and those employees who knew him/her.

Second, communicate simply, quickly and compassionately.

Let the remaining employees know that the individual was either (if there for a short time) not a good fit or (if there for a long time) didn’t carry their weight which was unfair to everyone else within the organization.

Employees know when someone is not a good fit or not doing their job well.  This will come as no surprise.  And overall employees appreciate when the company removes an employee who doesn’t contribute.  They feel for the individual, and yet they know that this is what’s best for the company.

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1.7 min readLast Updated: April 6th, 2021Published On: June 11th, 2010Categories: Employee Performance Improvement, Organizational Development ProcessTags:

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