{"id":46616,"date":"2021-02-11T11:09:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=46616"},"modified":"2024-11-14T07:18:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:18:22","slug":"how-to-fire-an-employee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/how-to-fire-an-employee\/","title":{"rendered":"How to fire an employee remotely: An empathetic guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re in a new world of work! If there\u2019s anything this time has taught us, it\u2019s that remote-first, hybrid, or distributed workforces are here to stay. And while the \u201c<\/span>work-from-anywhere<\/span><\/a>\u201d model has its share of benefits for both you and your employees, there will still come a time when you realize someone isn\u2019t a good fit for your team, and vice versa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to make sure you\u2019re ready to handle all stages of the employee lifecycle at a distance, from <\/span>remote hiring<\/span><\/a> to the F word: firing. And that\u2019s why I\u2019m here. I\u2019ve been working on people teams with remote-first workforces since before the pandemic, and there are a couple of things that I\u2019ve learned throughout my experience that might help you navigate these tricky waters a little more easily.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As you know, employee terminations and mutual separations of any kind are complicated, so we\u2019ll separate this into a couple of sections.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, we\u2019ll talk about<\/span> how to avoid unnecessary employee terminations:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Keep communications clear from day one<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Honor employee contributions regularly<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Include criteria for remote work in performance reviews<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Then, I\u2019ll walk you through five steps to a successful separation day<\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Be prepared<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Consider offboarding needs ahead of time<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Use video conferencing for enhanced empathy and clarity<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    4. Start early and move quickly<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    5. Notify the team of the termination<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      <\/a>How to avoid unnecessary remote employee terminations<\/h2>\n

      No one <\/span>wants<\/span><\/i> to fire a team member, and it should be a long road before you get there. In addition to the discomfort terminations cause on both sides, lots of turnover can be really expensive for your business. It\u2019s in your best interest\u2014for both company culture and your bottom line\u2014to put some <\/span>employee retention strategies<\/span><\/a> in place sooner rather than later.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Here are three ways you can manage remote employees and stop some personnel issues before they start:<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a>1. Keep communications clear from day one<\/span><\/h3>\n

      When working as a remote employee, it can be really difficult to know if you\u2019re doing the right thing. It\u2019s incredibly important to the employee experience to be able to gauge the culture, or how things get done, whether within the team or cross-functionally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Throughout the interview process, you have expectations of what the individual in the role will do. It\u2019s important to keep those top-of-mind with the individual in a way that it continues to evolve as the individual and the role develop and change.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Make sure to keep remote team members in the loop to the same degree as any on-site employees so everyone feels included. One way to improve communication is to create an online workspace for all employees to gather for <\/span>file sharing<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>team messaging<\/span><\/a>, and even face-to-face collaboration via <\/span>video conferencing<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n