Sarah offers the following tips on how to effectively retrench staff, even with the commonplace threat of unfair dismissal claims.
With the threat of unfair dismissal claims and company sabotage commonplace, sacking staff is an increasingly delicate and unenjoyable task.
Sarah Cornally, leadership and HR advisor, offers the following tips on how to effectively retrench staff from a legal, management and emotional standpoint.
Fire Them Because Of Their Miss-Match
Highlight the importance of matching their strengths with their work, explain that their positive attributes are not what the company needs for the position as the reason for their dismissal.
How Should You Translate This Termination?
Rather than trying to be done with it quickly to avoid ‘sticky’ situations, assess on an individual bases how to best deliver the termination. Is a direct, softer or information based approach the best way to explain it to them?
Implement (and follow up!) Performance Reviews
By advising staff of performance issues as they arise, even the small or unfixable, dissipates any feelings of surprise and anger when staff are dismissed. It also offers staff the opportunity to overcome issues before the firing stage.
Avoiding Legal Action and Sabotage
Feeling ‘unfairly treated’ is the driver behind staff instigating legal action and sabotage. Advise staff of the organisations dismissal procedure (and the steps that lead up to it), to eliminate feelings of being ‘kept in the dark’ or being ‘hard done by’.