Terminating an employee continues to be one of the most difficult tasks of a Human Resource manager. Firing an employee may contain hidden costs so before making the ultimate decision to separate an employee, it is important to remember what is at stake.
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[contact-form-7]First, employers must be conscientious of their reputation. Earning the label as a high-turnover area within the organization or worse yet, as a high turnover organization, is not always a reflection of employee performance. Such reputations are often seen as the result of poor leadership practices and/or ineffective recruiting practices.
Second, employee separation has a ripple effect whether due to underachievement, employment guideline violations, or downsizing. Loss of an employee will immediately translate into workload shifts. Since someone has to assume the responsibilities while a replacement is recruited and trained, higher performing team members are often tasked with additional work without additional compensation creating frustration and resentment.
Third, terminating an employee can lead to potential EEOC charges and lawsuits. Although proving a violation may be difficult, leveling an accusation is not. Even if an employee’s claim is not substantiated, the initial accusation may expose your organization to time consuming and costly investigations and audits. While your house may be in order, few organizations care to waste employee time, energy, and money responding to such charges.
So, what options do organizations have to avoid these problems and still grow a strong and healthy culture?
- Begin establishing employee expectations during the interview. If you are waiting until the on-boarding process to set forth performance and cultural expectations, you are behind the curve. If you are hesitant to offer such transparency during your candidate selection period, it is a clear sign that internal changes may need to occur before you hire.
- Create a clear, employee accessible and functioning method of addressing employment related issues. In general terms, employees want to succeed. If there is a failure due to performance, it is important to understand the underlying cause. Are there issues with harassment, discrimination, poor leadership, or insufficient resources and if so what methods are available to report and correct such issues? An employee’s poor performance may be a symptom rather than the root problem.
- Engage in frequent and timely feedback for performance. This should include both positive reinforcement as well as redirection. Delaying feedback or forcing such conversations into formalized one-directional evaluations often creates unnecessary stress or prolonged problems.
- Avoid vague or moving targets as benchmarks. Work together to set reasonable expectations that can be met. When employees are given a voice in setting their own goals, they will likely see them as both reasonable and attainable. Such self-motivating attitudes require less micro-management.
Creating a healthy organization with low-turnover is possible across all levels and industries. It, however, does not happen by chance. Businesses should have a strategic approach with their intent to hire, train, and support employees. Reach out to one of our HR specialists to see how we can help you evaluate and implement processes that reduce your turnover and create a culture that attracts and retains top talent.
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