Let’s Talk Terminations.

 Endings are hard but they don't have to be disrespectful.

Lately there have been a spate of articles about organizations going through terminations and layoffs.  From Meta's announcement they would cut 5% of their workforce, to Saks Global doing the same,  to the major changes and exits happening in the US government and more,  'letting people go'  hasn't had this much coverage since, well, frankly I can't remember when.

There is no doubt that when a well known organization plans to exit numbers like 5% of their workforce, that will make headlines no matter what the approach.  But within some of the coverage there are some quite concerning approaches to managing the exit process that should be highlighted so we can avoid the same thing.

Start with legalities

First things first.   Before we get to respectful and human exits, let's talk legalities.    US employment law is quite different to Canadian law, so don't fall into the trap of thinking that because something happens in the US that it can happen in Canada.   (Although I am not sure that the US government is even following their own laws with what is happening there).

We do have a number of small business clients who, when looking to exit an employee for the first time, are a bit flummoxed.    Employment law around terminations is pretty clear cut for the most part (and if it's not clear cut you likely want external support anyway). If you haven't looked at the employment law for your province, do.  It's generally readily available online.     And, to make the whole thing simpler for everyone, make sure you include termination clauses in your employment contracts.  (Now some small business owners are thinking 'uh oh, we don't have contracts', but that's an easy fix, so call us or your lawyer).

So yes, make sure it's legal, obviously.  But for us at ethree, we believe organizations can do a whole lot better than just being legal and it doesn't take a whole lot of work..  There's no reason that exits cannot be approached to ensure we are respectful and human in the process we follow.

Communicate like a human

In the case of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg announced ahead of time he was 'upping the bar on performance management' and 'going to exit low performers faster'.  The problem?  Many of the people who were terminated were not identified as low performers.   They also were informed by email.     Both of those things render an already challenging process even harder to navigate for the folks losing their jobs and there is really no need for either.  I also noted a recent UK tribunal example which was related to firing by text message (of course now I can't find it again).  But in any case,  while notification by text message , as with email,  may be legal, it certainly isn't human.

I was challenged by one individual that the reason for the email exit approach was 'probably for efficiency'.  I would argue that you can efficiently exit a high number of people in an organization and still have the decency to look them in the eye,  thank them for their service, and ensure they are reasonably okay.   It's just a human thing to do.

That includes language

I mean really, even the word 'termination' is not great is it?     I will tend to use synonyms like 'exits', 'leavers' etc.   Some folks I am sure will say that is unnecessary sugar coating, but language matters and I don't ever want any person to feel that I am 'terminating them'.  I am ending their employment.   Just because someone is not successful in my organization, that has nothing to do with their value as a person, or the fact they could be very successful somewhere else.   Just because someone doesn't fit, doesn't mean they are wrong so let's use the best language we can to communicate that.

Check your ongoing empathy level.

Let's be honest, losing your job, whether you thought it was coming or not, is a galling, humbling, and life altering event.    I heard a saying in my early days of HR - 'if you ever sleep before an exit conversation it's time to get out of the game'.  We need to be sure that we are making the right decision before we get to this point, so we shouldn't be losing sleep over that part of it. However, a decision that will have that much impact on another person probably merits a degree of discomfort.   Much of the media about recent posts highlights the lack of empathy in the processes being followed. Human beings are prone to empathy fatigue, particularly in roles that require high degrees of empathy, like health care.  We also become less empathetic the more power we have.   So if you're planning an exit and you find that you're sleeping soundly,  might be worth some self reflection.   You're going to be handling someone who will have a reaction to the conversation and you're going to need to be empathetic about it.

Consider the "After", Before.

Once you have the conversation with the individual, you're going to need to communicate the outcome to everyone else.  How and when you do that matters in too many ways to go through here.  Plan all that before hand.  Some of the media examples highlighted the lack of thinking about those conversations and ethree has been asked in the past to come in and 'rescue' a number of situations after the fact.  In many cases the exit conversation itself was handled well, but the communication afterwards was not. It created confusion, concern, anxiety or even hostility.   Comments made 'off the cuff' , a mis-step in articulating the reason for a departure,  are just two ways it can be problematic. There are many more.   If you're not sure what to say, to who and when, give us a call before you go ahead. You can also demonstrate care by offering ongoing support to the person who is leaving.   Career transition services can demonstrate a care for the individual and they don't need to cost a fortune.   Having someone neutral to help an individual navigate their feelings and reactions to the loss of their job, and some support to help them find a new one,  can be helpful. Career support can be very helpful reinforcing that you value the person even if you can't maintain their employment.

At the end of the day

Termination conversations should always be hard if we are thinking about the impact.   It's not unusual to hear us at ethree saying things like "well it went as well as can be expected".   But we can plan exits with an aim to providing the most respect and support the person who is leaving.   We are not responsible for someone's response but we can work to ensure we don't add additional stress. If you're navigating terminations for the first time, or you'd like some support,  give us a call.     Helping with the tough people stuff is what we do.