How to Ease Tension During the Employee Termination Interview

One of the most uncomfortable parts of my job while working in a supervisory position was firing an employee. Whether it was a woman or a man, a young person or older person, it made no difference; the terminate process was not pleasant. There are things you can do to prepare for terminating an employee such as having factual documentation to support your findings for the firing and having security available, if needed; but when it comes down to the exit interview you can only prepare so much, as you have no idea how the employee will respond. I was employed as a supervisor for eight years at a state agency where turn-over was high, so over the years I developed some techniques that not only made it easier on me, but as well as the employees I had to fire.

Being terminated may not come as much of a surprise to an employee if you have been doing your supervisory job correctly, having addressed the employee's lack of performance through documentation and met regularly with them pointing out their trouble areas and suggesting ways to improve. Even though the employee may be expecting to be fired, that does not mean the exit interview will go smoothly.

If you feel you may need security, position them out of sight. This is good for several reasons; one being you must respect the privacy rights of the employee. Second the employee will be feeling intimidated and fearful enough just from the interview; there is no reason to make them feel even more uncomfortable. Another reason is the employee might view the presence of security as a threat because the employee is perceived as a threat, which could lead them to cause a little trouble.

I have attended several workshops on the termination procedure with some providing good advice and some not. One thing I do not agree with is firing an employee on a Monday because on Tuesday, this employee has nowhere to go except the unemployment office. You may think this a good thing, but let's think about this a moment.