The Graceful Art of Termination
By Thomas E Daubert
During a prayer session at our church, a couple asked us to keep some friends of theirs in prayer. Apparently, they had moved a great distance across Canada to work at this particular place of employment. After working there for only a month or two, the couple was dismissed from their duties without warning. As sad as this situation was, I knew exactly how this couple felt. Three years ago, the same thing happened to my wife and me. What was thought to be a routine staff evaluation turned into termination of employment. I knew we were having troubles, but my wife and I were oblivious to the fact that our employers were dissatisfied with our work to the point of dismissal. We even received a moderately good evaluation less than six months ago with no indication of areas of improvement. Cases like these are both tragic and commonplace, particularly in areas of ministry. Nobody relishes the prospect of being fired, and I flatter myself to think that effective leaders do not relish the prospect of firing employees. Frankly, there is no easy way to terminate employment. However, if it is done discreetly, professionally, and even compassionately, the pain of termination could be alleviated significantly.
First of all, ample time should always be given for training with mistakes addressed in private. When my wife and I started working at the youth care facility, we weren't really trained properly. Instead of being informed of how to do things properly or appropriately, we were simply chided by the powers that be, sometimes even in front of the clientele. If there are issues that need to be addressed, they should always be addressed behind closed doors and out of earshot of other people. Talking about mistakes should be learning experiences, and not lessons in humiliation and frustration.
Secondly, employees should always be made aware of their mistakes and shortcomings. A few months back, I made a mistake that was noticed by my interim supervisor. When she addressed my mistake, she mentioned that the supervisor before her was ready to terminate my employment. I realized that I erred, but I was oblivious to the fact that my employment was in jeopardy. In fact, I received a glowing staff evaluation a few months prior. Had I known this, I would have been a lot more careful not to repeat this offense twice. When I was a supervisor, a mentor told me to always leave a paper trail. Any infractions needed to be addressed in a timely fashion, documented with a copy going to the employee, and a copy kept on record. That way, if the worker does it again, it gives the employer more ground for termination, should it ever get that severe. Moreover, the employee is made more aware of his actions and will hopefully be not repeat the infraction again, whatever it may be.
I have seen cases, like the one mentioned at the beginning, where the employers are terminated for no reason at all. They go into work one day and the next day they are let go. A friend of mine who was a principal was let go from his position by a school board who gave him no reason for letting him go. I could even mention several others who were subjected to this kind of treatment. Not only is this demoralizing, it is also unprofessional, and for those who are Christians, it is totally unacceptable. Any supervisor that does not have the decency and strength of character to do give someone sufficient reason for termination is not worth working for.
Most importantly, an effective supervisor should always have the desire to keep their employees for as long as possible and improve them in a way that is discreet and edifying. Unfortunately, there are those whom you can't improve or have no desire to improve. There are also those who do things that are illegal, unethical, and blatantly harmful to the organization. Even with those people, an employer should make the concerted effort to restore those people, unless it is absolutely impossible.
Being an effective leader is definitely not an easy task, especially when it comes to human resources. Unless the manager is despotic in nature (and I have worked with some like that), firing people or confronting them is not something any person desires to do. Being let go is definitely demoralizing and discouraging, so the supervisor has a great responsibility to make the process a little less so. As the Golden Rule states: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Thomas Daubert has worked in residential youth care for nearly twenty years and has written a book entitled "Your House Their House" available through Authorhouse Publishing or amazon.com. He currently is an ESL teacher in Shawnee,Oklahoma.
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