Sometimes an employee just isn’t a great fit for the job. Other times they blatantly disregard company policy, and you have no other choice but to let them go. It’s never easy to terminate someone — even experienced HR managers can find it difficult. This is particularly true if you know you’re asking someone to leave who isn’t going to go quietly or calmly.
Some emotional reaction is understandable. The job market is fierce, especially right now. It might be difficult to find work. That being said, this employee probably had warnings and notice. They should have improved their work or avoided breaking rules altogether. Here are a few tips that’ll help you handle disgruntled ex-employees.
1. Bring in back up.
If you know you’re about to fire someone who isn’t going to leave calmly, it’s best not to be in the room alone. Having multiple people in the room also shows that a team, instead of a single person, made this decision. Bring in people who will be able to de-escalate the situation. Some people don’t understand why they’re being let go, even if it seems obvious to you. Hopefully, someone on this team of people will be able to explain it in a way that the employee will understand and listen to.
If someone in the room isn’t being helpful, ask them to leave before the situation gets out of hand. Try to be forceful and polite. As difficult as it may be, don’t let this person ruffle you. Don’t stoke the fire if it can be avoided.
2. Be diligent about your safety.
Unfortunately, some people are dangerous. You might not want to think about a former co-worker as being capable of committing harmful crimes, but in some cases it’s possible. If you don’t already have security cameras, you should immediately invest, even if you’re only a small business. That way if he or she physically shows up to the workplace, you’ll have evidence that you can take to a lawyer.
Cameras can protect you at the actual workplace, but what if you could stop threats before it even became a physical problem? With LifeRaft, you can keep tabs on the safety of your business and employees online. LifeRaft alerts you if someone has made hostile threats on social media, a blog or forum, chat boards, and even on the dark web about your business or someone associated with your business. This can specifically protect your executives, your building, and even your operations.
Once you’re alerted, you’ll be able to take preventative measures and alert authorities. Even if the person who wrote the message had no intention of following through with the threat, it’s still harassment. You’ll have a paper trail for the future, which may deter your former employee from acting out. To sign up for LifeRaft, visit www.liferaftinc.com.
3. Start fresh.
You may be so preoccupied with the shenanigans of your former worker that you feel like you barely have time to interview anyone for their position. When someone has been fired, it’s not usually at a convenient time, and everyone is picking up the slack. With the right interview scheduler, your hiring team will be able to get all of your work done and find great job seekers for the position.
The ideal interview scheduler takes away the hassle of manual scheduling and allows you to simply block out times that you don’t have meetings to attend. From there, job seekers can pick a time that works with their schedule from those pre-designated slots. That way, there’s not a lot of back and forth. If someone you’re interviewing is no longer able to make their initial time, they can simply change it, and you’ll be notified. Streamlining the process makes for a better experience for everyone involved — both the hiring team and the potential employee. Find a scheduler that’s easy to use, so you’re not doing any more extra work than you have to.
