Firing an employee does not have to be the worst experience of your year. You can use the occasion to examine what went wrong in the employment relationship. Assuming the termination is for a mismatch, you can help the employee build self-esteem despite their employment termination. You can encourage the employee to look ahead and get started on a new job search. Even if the firing is for non-performance, you want to end the relationship on a positive note.

Sometimes, an employee is bored or unhappy with her current position, pay, or job title. You have no open positions for which she qualifies.

In some instances, an employee is either consciously or unconsciously asking you to fire her for her performance. The individual knows, on some level, that her employment with you is the wrong placement. In a recent termination meeting, the employee stated, "What took you guys so long to fire me? I am bored out of my skull with this job."

Steps in Employment Termination for Non-Performance

* Make sure the employee is clear about the job expectations, the production expectations and any other details that would enable the person to perform effectively. Job descriptions, posted production standards, and data about performance help the employee understand and perform their role. A Performance Management System ensures the employee’s clarity about the goals.

* If the employee is violating policies and procedures, make sure these are written and that the employee has been trained in the policies and procedures. A signed form is good testimony to allay the potential for future litigation.

* Provide help and guidance; give the employee regular feedback about her performance. Make sure you explain the potential consequences of underperformance. Coaching for Improved Performance provides a step-by-step coaching approach you can use to help an employee improve her work performance. This approach avoids discipline and produces results.

* Determine that you are applying the performance standards fairly. For purposes of discrimination avoidance, you must address any employee who is doing the same things in the same way. You must address the employee with the most serious problems first. All employees who are failing to follow your policies must be disciplined in the same way; never focus on one person’s performance.

* If you determine that a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) might help the employee succeed, use a PIP to positively encourage the employee. The detail required in a PIP sometimes helps a failing employee reach clarity about job expectations.

* Most importantly, you need to document any performance discussions for the employee’s file with the time, date, and policy or performance problem clearly identified. Keep good records because you never know when you will need them; minimally, good records will refresh your memory of the termination. Employees move on and good records ensure the employer will be able to address any issues about the termination in the future.

* In progressive discipline, each write up must escalate so that you have verbal warnings, verbal written warning and then suspensions on the record. This ensures that employment termination is never a surprise. When you schedule the termination meeting, the employee should not be surprised. In a recent termination I participated in, the employee came to the meeting with all of his possessions already packed. No surprises.

* Schedule a meeting that includes the employee, the employee’s supervisor and either a Human Resources representative, or in some cases, the supervisor’s manager. I recommend these meetings are held mid-afternoon on a Tuesday or Wednesday so that the employee has the ability to start a job search immediately.

* Be straight forward. Tell the employee her job is terminated. Tell the employee the reason for the employment termination. Be civil, concise, and compassionate.

* Respect the person's dignity. Allow her to speak if she wants to and ask any questions she may have. You may even engage in some discussion about what went wrong in the employment relationship. Example, perhaps the person was not a good “fit” for the position from the beginning. Perhaps the employee’s work style is too slow for the pace of the company. Perhaps the employee had become so bored, she wanted to be fired. At no point, however, allow the person to think you might be “talked out of" the decision to terminate her employment.

* The employee may try to "get even”, to lash out and make you wrong. Don't become angry, argue with the employee, or try to settle the score. Recognize going in to the meeting that you are likely very disappointed, too. You had an expensive investment in this employee’s success, both personally and financially. You will have to recruit and train the employee’s replacement. Make sure your emotions are under control so you can remain compassionate and respectful.

* You can assess by the way the meeting has gone whether discussion or advice to the departing employee would be helpful. I find that I can help by discussing the kind of job the employee might succeed in, how to locate job searching resources, school attendance ideas, and the employee’s strengths. I have consistent feedback from former employees that this brief discussion helped them clarify their direction and helped them move on. You build the employee’s self-esteem, and help them begin the process of job searching.

* Collect all company property or determine its location.

* Give the employee a choice about who among the meeting attendees will walk her out of the building. Give the employee a choice about whether she wants to remove personal belongings from her work station now or after hours.