"You're fired," or the numerous less harsh euphemisms, are the hardest words for any manager, with the possible exception of Donald Trump, to speak. Indeed, firing an employee is probably the most stressful and difficult task for managers. While it's never easy, handling the situation properly can minimize the negative repercussions for all involved, and mitigate the impact on the organization's morale. There are also some important policies that every firm should have in place to reduce the possibility of wrongful termination lawsuits, and to handle such situations professionally.


New employees
Many terminations occur during the first three months of an employee's tenure. This isn't surprising, considering that the first 90 days for most workers are when employer and employee determine if the person is the right fit for the job and for the organization. This is an opportunity for new employees to become acclimated to the firm, and for the firm to get acclimated to them.

Many firms refer to this period as "probationary," but I don't like that term. It sets a negative tone. I prefer to refer the first three months as a training phase. It's vital to let new employees know how they're doing early and often during this period. If they're not meeting minimal performance objectives, act quickly. It's far better to make the call to let the person go within the first few months than it is to wait and hope the situation improves.

If the person shows promise, but is lacking some important skills, for some positions it may be possible to provide necessary training to bring him or her up to speed. If that's the case, make sure that the employee understands exactly what is required, and set some milestones to track his or her progress.

Document performance conversations in writing
With longer-tenured employees, the decision to fire someone is obviously more difficult than in it is to cut loose a newbie. With the exception of outright malfeasance, insubordination, or a serious breach of firm rules, the firing of an employee often unfolds over several months. Legal and human resources experts stress that the firm should have a paper trail to back up a dismissal for poor performance.

It's only fair to the employee to let him or her know as early as possible that his or her performance is below acceptable standards. The employee should be told explicitly where and how his performance is suffering, and what he needs to do to improve it. Make sure the employee has a clear understanding of your expectations. It's also good to get him or her to sign off on the documentation spelling out this out as an indication that they do understand the situation, and this provides a solid paper trail.

Then, draw up a performance improvement plan that spells out some performance benchmarks that must be met over a realistic timetable - say three months. Give the employee a fair chance to improve. You may even want to assign a mentor to that person to give him or her frequent advice on how to raise his or her performance. Sometimes these situations give poor-performing employees the sense of urgency needed to put in the extra effort to improve their skills, and some are able to raise their performance to acceptable standards.

Fire with dignity
If the employee fails to improve his or her performance, let him or her go in a dignified, professional manner. By all means, sit down and give the news in person. Firing someone over the phone, or even worse, by e-mail, is totally unacceptable, and it does happen. This is not only very discourteous to the employee, but it can cause remaining staffers to lose a lot of respect for firm leaders. Handling a delicate situation like this in such a cold and cruel manner is bound to have negative repercussions on firm morale.

When the day comes to let the person go, he or she should be told again about why they're being dismissed. Be straight and truthful, but don't beat up on the person. There's no reason to delve deeply into the details of his or her shortcomings - that should have been done earlier during discussions about performance. Don't give him or her more to be angry about. Also, have their final paycheck ready. If this is not possible, make sure you tell the terminated employee when they can expect to see their paycheck. Also, provide appropriate information concerning benefits, and document what was said during the meeting.

Don't talk to the rest of the employees like the fired person is not really a person. They should be treated with dignity. People around you will see how you treat people in these situations, and handling them unprofessionally can seriously damage morale with the troops.

What to tell staff?
Employers should discuss a termination only with employees who genuinely need to know about it. In most situations, this should not include the former employee's co-workers, customers or clients. They should be told only that the individual is no longer with the company. For those who have a genuine need to know, employers should give only factual information rather than offering opinions about a person's motivation or character.

Evaluate what went wrong
Sometimes terminations reveal flaws in your hiring or management practices. Was the person who was let go under-qualified for the position? Did he or she have some previously undetected gaps in expertise or experience that led to his or her downfall? What can the firm do better in the hiring process to ensure that the next person hired for the position will succeed? Can the firm offer better training and support, if necessary?

These are the types of questions that should be asked after a termination. Use the termination as an occasion to reevaluate your hiring practices so that you can reduce the number of terminations in the future. After all, nobody likes to say, "you're fired."