Do The “Termination” Paperwork When You Hire May 2, 2011
Posted by rdsinger in Uncategorized.trackback
Recently I spoke with a manager at a small service company who was about to terminate an employee for “not doing their job”. I asked that manager if they had done all the necessary things to insure that the employee was properly informed of and trained in their duties. The manager replied that they had “written up” the employee and listed “areas of needed improvement”.
His response didn’t really answer my question and I told the manager that what I really wanted to know: was the employee properly trained, from the beginning, on his job duties? Did the employee receive an employee manual or a document outlining responsibilities and “chain of command”? Was the employee taught procedures and informed, on a regular basis, how he was doing?
Now, these aren’t necessarily the items that will keep you “legal” if a terminated employee decides to take you to court. But, they are the right things to do to properly engage and motivate an employee. It is the manager’s responsibility to see that each new employee has a full understanding of what is expected of them and what they should expect of their new employee.
So many managers don’t take the time to do these simple things, or they assign the training to another employee who “doesn’t get paid to do that” and is more concerned with getting their own work completed. If management does not treat training of new employees as a priority, neither will other employees. And the new employee expected, to learn by osmosis, rarely masters the work.
So, is the employee left to “fend for themselves” after a brief period of training, at best? And then, (horror of horrors!) they don’t do their job well! Now the manager has to have at least one “fierce conversation” with the employee to try to get them on track. The employee is suddenly being trained “under duress”. And the manager is having to spend far more time with this employee than would have been necessary had they been properly trained in the beginning.
However, the one thing the manager gets right is the “paper trail” that leads to termination…a verbal warning followed by a written warning, with expectations, followed by termination if there is no improvement. In other words, all the information that the employee should have received, in written form, when they were hired. What’s wrong with that picture?
Too many people lose jobs, not because of poor performance, but because of poor communication of expectations by their managers. That’s why you should do the “termination” paperwork when they are hired. and save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.
Gibsonia Gazette 
What a simple and powerful idea. So many small business owners give vague guidelines and “on the job training” at the start of a new employee’s tenure. Then later, when the performance isn’t there, they try to “course correct” when it may already be too late.
I love the notion of thinking about the “termination” paperwork as a foundation for an initial training program.
Here’s yet another reason why I love your advice Dick. When an employee (now former employee) believes that they’ve been wronged, they’re quite likely to go to http://www.glassdoor.com and share their point of view. No, it’s not just Middle-Eastern dictators who have to worry about the power of social media. Information is flowing faster and more freely than ever. Your treatment of current and former employees will affect your ability to attract the best future employees — because they’re doing their research first.
Go ahead and treat your employees like commodities. And then prepare to scrape the bottom of the barrel in future hiring. How do you like them apples?
This is spot on! Particularly with smaller companies who are often understaffed. Many of the employees hardly have the time to do their own work let alone take time to train others. A precise system for ” on boarding” a new employee not only protects you legally but also shows your new employee that you have your stuff together . It’s tough enough being a new employee but if you are a new employee and it seem as though there isn’t orginazation and good procedures the employee may actually second guess their decision of taking this new position . Thanks Dick.