HR Playbook: How Much Information Should Be Shared in a Termination Meeting?
Every manager or human resource professional will be faced with letting an employee go. These meetings, which best occur in person, are life impacting meetings. When you consider the impact on the employee, it’s no wonder that some lose sleep as they prepare for these meetings. The employee is about to lose income, benefits and will have a hefty blow to his/her esteem. Images of that employee heading home to share the update with a spouse can be upsetting, too. Imagine having to carry that message home to your spouse and children? (Truth be told, in my experience the terminated employee rarely shares the full truth with a spouse. Blame is generally placed, to some degree, on the manager, organization or even unclear standards of performance. I’ve received many an email or call from a spouse of a recently terminated employee, asking me how a good company could terminate its ‘best performing’ employee.) This short article will focus on that final meeting, and exactly how much i...