How to Fire an Employee Gracefully: Tips for Letting Go (and Stay Out of Trouble)

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People change jobs on average 12 times during their careers, and 29% of specialists return to their previous jobs.

HR specialists need to carry out the offboarding process correctly every time, otherwise, it may negatively affect the company’s reputation, as well as cause a lawsuit and negative reviews. We’ve compiled tips on how to fire an employee to minimize stress and remain friends with the professional.

Why It’s Important To Use the Correct Dismissal Strategy

Companies rarely spend time offboarding employees. Many HR managers are convinced that employees leaving the company are already a closed chapter, and it is worth turning all attention to potential and current team members instead. However, offboarding done incorrectly can negatively affect the work of the entire company. Why is that?

• An employee can return to the company after some time

Perhaps a specialist was fired due to the lack of certain skills. However, in a year or two they will acquire new knowledge, boost their skills, and return to your company for the same as previously or even higher positions. Good relationships will become the basis for future productive cooperation, as well as a high level of employee motivation.

• Your reputation and your employer brand may suffer

There are many examples of when fired employees began to write negative reviews about the company and initiate discussions on specialized forums. The employer rudely fired them or didn’t pay wages will be a red flag for future candidates.

How NOT To Fire an Employee: Anti-examples of Offboarding

We’ve highlighted several bad and high-profile examples of dismissal from large companies.

1. In March 2020, Bird, a company that provides scooters for rent, suffered significant losses due to quarantine. To optimize budgets, the top management has decided to fire 406 employees. Saying goodbye to staff during layoffs looked like a typical Zoom call. Moreover, an unknown specialist has communicated with the workers.

The fact that Bird did its best to help ex-employees find new jobs, paid salaries, and paid for training, went almost unnoticed. That has happened due to incorrect information about the dismissal. It’d be better if this news was reported by the CEO of the company or, for example, the team lead.

2. Tesla fired about 700 employees who had been with the company for more than four years without warning in 2017. Under U.S. Federal law, employers are required to provide employees with verbal and written warnings several weeks before termination to give employees sufficient time to correct their mistakes. Farewell to employees during dismissal must comply with the labor code and laws of the country, otherwise, it may entail legal consequences. Tesla has also been criticized for forcing fired employees to sign an agreement prohibiting them from criticizing the company, its executives, investors, and Elon Musk in particular.

How to inform an employee about dismissal? It is unethical to fire:

❌ immediately and without salary payment;

❌ without any explanation;

❌ without access to the office and the ability to pick up stuff yourself;

❌ with a scandal;

❌ with a blocking in all corporate communication channels.

Use other strategies instead. It’s ethical to fire an employee:

✅ without conflict;

✅ with a warning and a second chance (depending on the circumstances);

✅ with payment of wages for the time worked;

✅ with writing a letter of recommendation (depending on the circumstances).

Sabbatical, Recommendation Letter, and Gifts: Nice Ways to Fire Someone

How to let someone go the right way? Are there any particular strategies? And how to fire an employee gracefully? If employees don’t leave the company as part of a high-profile scandal, you can provide them with support and wow their last day in the company. This is a great way to keep him loyal. Here are some tips on how to fire employees nicely so that they won’t hate you afterward.

1. Don’t rush into a decision — consider alternatives to dismissal instead

How to nicely fire someone? Remember that dismissal isn’t always the only option when you observe a decline in productivity, specialists are burnt out and nothing motivates them anymore. Before firing an IT specialist, you can offer an alternative:

• Performance improvement plan with specified improvement areas and exact review dates. 

• Transfer to another work format with revision of payment for completed tasks or hours of work.

• Sabbatical (long-term vacation) from three months to several years. In 2021, consulting giant PwC began offering employees vacations lasting up to six months. Japan’s largest airline, All Nippon Airways, has launched a long-term sabbatical program for up to 2 years.

We’ve already written more about preventing layoffs and supporting a positive mental state of employees in the blog. Now, let’s move on to what to do if you decide to fire an employee.

2. Reduce the frustration level

In psychology, there is a so-called PNP technique (positive–negative–positive). First, you tell the employee positive facts (you can, for example, discuss the week and emphasize the positive points). Then, get down to business (talk about dismissal). Last but not least, end the conversation on a positive note — for example, emphasizing that their personal qualities have nothing to do with the decision made. You can also recommend courses or training programs that will help them improve their professional level. That’s how to politely fire someone.

3. Complete a recommendation letter

To support the specialist, you can also write a letter of recommendation for the next employer, highlighting the specialist’s best qualities as a candidate.

4. Be empathic about the employee’s future career

Provide your colleague with a career consultant or coach support, help to update his CV, and find vacancies. If there are opportunities or conditions for the employee to return to the company, voice them.

5. Make a goodbye fun

Let’s discuss how to fire an employee nicely. Give the IT specialist gifts and organize a party in his honor — even when it is difficult to calculate the benefits of this step. This way you will add several positive points to your image.

• Intel has developed a section on the website where employees can find out what to expect after agreeing on a dismissal date: what payments and bonuses, medical care, and insurance are available, what to do with unused vacation, etc.

• Redwerk gives albums with general photos and personal wishes from the team as a farewell gift. This emphasizes the value of specialists and reminds them of common successes.

• Intellias gives a colleague who quits a branded notebook and a postcard where the company notes that it is not saying goodbye forever, it just misses you until the next meeting. This way, specialists understand that they are welcome employees at any time.

• In Boosta, specialists receive a boomerang as a symbol that the team is waiting for their return. Those who have worked for two years or more also receive branded chocolate and hoodies with a corporate logo, as well as other gifts.

You might be interested: Searching for IT Specialists for Product-based Companies — an article about what kind of specialists IT product companies need, what the challenges of such hiring, as well as what are the advantages of working with an IT recruiting agency when a startup is growing rapidly and you need to quickly fill vacancies or hire unique market specialists.

Dismissal Procedures: a Step-by-step Guide for Managers

We’ve put together a mini guide on what are the stages of dismissing an employee and how to prepare for each of them.

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Preparatory stage

At this stage, it is necessary to prepare papers and the results of past reviews, as well as: 

• Collect objective feedback.
• Notify the HR manager.
• Find out the remaining vacation time and whether the employee has company equipment.
• Consult a lawyer if necessary.

Meeting with an employee

At this stage, the HR manager or Senior manager makes an appointment with the company employee who is about to be fired. It is important to hold the rally in person, except for remote employees who aren’t in the office. For the meeting, allocate a separate room and enough time: on average, up to 60 minutes will be enough.

Do you want to know how to let an employee go gracefully? Here is what should be discussed at the meeting before it: 

• reason and date of dismissal;
• when will the salary be paid;
• vacation compensation;
• payment of bonuses, if provided for the position (for example, for a sales manager);
• willingness to provide recommendations and help in finding a job.

You should also ask the employee how they want to inform the team about their dismissal.

Exit interview

When an employee leaves a company, companies rarely have a conversation about expectations and interactions with colleagues and management. However, without an Exit interview, the company misses the opportunity to receive valuable feedback. In addition, you won’t be able to show the employee that the company’s door is open for him in the future (of course, if this is true).

An exit interview is most often conducted by HR or another person who is not the specialist’s direct supervisor (this is the only way to get the most objective feedback). During the conversation, the employer’s representative should ask specific questions and listen carefully to the employee, without interrupting or convincing that the company is right. Such a conversation must be conducted without haste and in a confidential atmosphere.

Here are some examples of exit interview questions that can be adapted to your company:

• Did you enjoy your tasks?
• How satisfied were you with your workplace and technical equipment?
• How satisfied were you with your interactions with management?
• How comfortable were you working in a team? 
• What are your career goals? Did you manage to get closer to them while working in the company?
• What did you like/dislike about the company?
• Would you recommend the company to friends? Why?

Be sure to thank your former colleague not only for the work done but also for participating in the exit interview. Read more about communication after dismissal and at other stages of the Employee Journey Map in the ITExpert article written with the Technical Recruiter.

Communicating the decision to the team

Tell the decision to dismiss the employee to the team where the specialist worked:  

• report the fact of dismissal;
• specify the date;
• state the reason (without details and agreed upon with the employee);
• inform those with whom the specialist has worked most closely.

While laying off 11,000 Meta employees, Mark Zuckerberg created a letter explaining the massive layoff decision. The letter also highlighted financial compensation and types of assistance from the company (health insurance for families for six months, consultations on immigration nuances, and career development). Meta has also appointed curators who accompanied specialists throughout the entire dismissal process.

The world is turbulent and unpredictable. Hence, a crisis may occur, the value of a company’s shares may suddenly fall, the organization’s revenues will be significantly reduced, or a zombie apocalypse may start. However, no matter what happens with the company, its founders and top management, do not forget about humanity and empathy. Your efforts on how to fire a worker nicely won’t go unnoticed. 🙂