Landscape Management, October 2012

BUSINESSPLANNER2013 By Bill ArmAn hen it comes time to fre an employee there are many questions and concerns fears of discrimination wrongful termination retaliation that can weigh heavily on landscape contractors minds and pocketbooks So lets review the fundamental process for conducting an employee termination fairly correctly and consistently To start be prepared Collect the facts review them and interpret them objectively Ask What does his last performance revieW look like Invariably when I ask this question the answer is I dont know or We havent done performance reviews for a while actually ever are performance or behavioral problems Well documented If there are problems with an employee it must be refected in his performance reviews If theres no documentation then you might need to rethink your plan are there any Written Warnings Has the company made it clear to the employee that if his behavior or lack of performance continues his job is in jeopardy Written warnings must explicitly state to employees the consequences of not improving their performance Managers need to be clear in writing and signed that whatever the employee is doing or not doing could result in job loss LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET OCTOBER 2012 46 Without documentation an employee has a stronger case for wrongful termination At the very least being fred shouldnt be a surprise If it is you havent done your job as a fair leader Be certain youre fair and consistent and youre not singling out this person while allowing others to perform or behave in a similar manner If you have a particularly diffcult issue seek assistance from a human resource expert or labor attorney Its considerably less expensive to pay for expertise to fre an employee correctly than paying for the consequences if its done incorrectly Plan for the termination meeting by scripting it and practicing Winging a meeting with an employee youre going to fre is a bad idea If you dont prepare what youre going to say to the employee you could speak out of turn and your comments could be fodder for a lawsuit Determine whos going to say what during the meeting Let the employee know the purpose of the meeting from the start Determine whats going to happen after the meeting and whos going to do what For example will you need to take the terminated employee home If the termination is because of a chronic performance problem a fundamental script should be used As you know you and I have had several meetings during the past several weeks months to discuss your performance related problems e g interpersonal skills accuracy of work not wearing personal protective equipment etc Despite that documented coaching your performance hasnt improved to the required level of your position and is negatively affecting company operations As such today will be your last day of employment with the company Fire an employee continued on page 48 QUIck tIP Remember to show respect and dignity Employees at all levels deserve to be treated well when their employment is being terminated whether its because of performance behavior or Ànancial reasons