Don't let a bad employee
take advantage of you. Here's what you should know...
There are many reasons employee dismissal is necessary. Although
an unpleasant task, business owners and Human Resource Managers
can approach firing an employee in a well thought out way. This
minimizes the entire workforce's negative feelings associated
with a potentially bad situation.
Reasons For Employee Dismissal
Some of the reasons for employee dismissal are circumstantial.
For example, the workplace is forever changing as are the skills
needed to stay competitive. Employees must constantly develop
new areas of expertise to keep up with business and technological
changes. Sometimes employees either cannot master the necessary
skills or simply refuse to do so. That brings the business
owner face-to-face with the need to remove those members of
the workforce that cannot adjust.
Also in the past several decades, business downsizing has become
more common. This is a method used by both large and small companies
to stay competitive. Third world countries with low cost labor
have made the business environment much tougher. Even Asian countries
like Japan have learned that in today’s rising and falling
global economy, the idea of "employment for life" has
become financially impossible.
Finally in today's age, businesses use more automation to replace
workers. Companies that rely on employees to carry out labor-intensive
tasks cannot keep pace with their automated competitors. If these
companies eventually fail to automate, they usually have to shut
their doors. Unfortunately, automation means business owners
must dismiss more employees.
Other reasons for employee dismissal are more distasteful. But
these are a reality. All employers and Human Resource Managers
will eventually have to deal with them.
Occasionally, the employee is simply not doing his or her job.
And unfortunately this type of situation does not typically resolve
itself. The manager or business owner must take immediate action
or productivity goes down and other workers start to follow suit.
Other situations are less straightforward. Sometimes an employee
becomes a liability the business cannot afford to support. Examples
of this include a refusal to wear protective devices, repeatedly
smoking in undesignated areas, or refusal to change behavior
after repeated warnings. Under these scenarios, the manager eventually
has to fire the employee.
The Method Used To Dismiss An Employee Matters
Although a manager can identify a case for dismissing a worker,
the task of firing an employee is still difficult. How it is
done affects the entire workforce and the overall business productivity.
A poorly handled firing can have long-term effects for the business
and its ability to keep good workers.
When the need for employee dismissal arises, it rarely surprises
the employer or the employee. Consciously or unconsciously, the
employee facing termination often resorts to offensive behavior.
This is an attempt to make the firing more confrontational and
therefore more difficult. An employee-employer stalemate of this
kind can only make it worse and the manager must address the
immediately.
In a nutshell, the employer must behave in a professional, unbiased
manner. If the employer has followed all the legalities associated
with employee relations, he or she has nothing to fear. Unless
the dismissal is disciplinary in nature because of employee misconduct,
there are successful ways of easing the separation anxiety of
everyone involved. Severance packages and job relocation services
may be a part of the termination interview. Tactful language
and allowing the employee to leave the business with dignity
in front of co-workers are important. These considerations help
make the employee dismissal process less painful for everyone
involved.
Employee
dismissal and termination procedure. Step-by-step.
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