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Telling Your Team an Employee Was Fired

ThinkstockPhotos-474027535As one of the top staffing services firms in Tempe, PrideStaff knows firing an employee is never easy. But what can be just as challenging is telling your team about the situation. Not only will it result in many questions – some you may be able to answer, and others you won’t – but it can also impact morale.

How can you properly communicate about it to your staff? Start by following these two rules:

Rule #1: Respect the employee’s privacy.

Even when a firing is for cause, you should always respect the employee’s privacy and ensure they maintain their dignity. As a result, even when other employees have questions and ask for details, don’t get too specific.

Rule #2: Communicate that the firing wasn’t arbitrary.

Your employees are probably not aware of the ample warnings and meetings you had with a problem employee before they got fired. As a result, some of your team members may be thinking, “Am I next?” That’s why it’s important to communicate to your staff that you put a lot of thought into the decision and that it’s your job to hold people accountable for their actions (without going into specific examples about the employee who was terminated).

So what should you say to your team? Something like:

“Mike’s last day was today. We wish him luck in the future. You may be wondering about his sudden departure after he worked here for so long. Out of respect for Mike’s privacy, I’m not going to delve into details. But please understand that this termination was the end result of a long process and it was not a decision made lightly. Going forward, his tasks are going to be handled by Mary until we hire someone else, which we hope will happen in about six to eight weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions, let me know.”

The bottom line is that you don’t need to share all the details of an employee’s termination. But you also can’t just ignore it either and go on like nothing has happened. You must communicate with the rest of your employees about the situation. Doing so will deepen the trust between you and your staff.

Do you have an open position you need help filling fast?
Call PrideStaff. As one of the top staffing services firms in Tempe, our specialists can help you with the process from start to finish, giving you access to the skilled and dependable people you need. To learn more, contact us today.

 

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