THERE REALLY is no easy way to break somebody’s heart (just ask James Ingram and all the sawi sa pag-ibig right now), and this is true too in the corporate world.
My balikbayan friend from the US was just telling me last Sunday how her friend, also a Pinay, agonized going to work every day at Lehman Brothers before the big collapse, not knowing if she would still have a job the next day. I also heard of another friend who worked at a California bank which has closed shop last year, and yes, it is hard to be told you just lost your job.
But just as it is so heartbreaking to be told you have been fired or have lost your job through no fault of your own, it is equally, if not more, heartbreaking to be the boss having to decide a subordinate’s fate and tell him about it.
A 41-year-old software engineer in Manila remembers having been asked by his former employer to draft a list of 10 to 15 people to be fired as a result of a merger with a bigger company. “I made a list, but I never sent it until I just resigned. It was hard as some of those people were my friends,” he says. “When they greet you ‘Hi, sir’ I get guilty because I am in effect sharpening the axe and they have no idea. Plus you know that if these people lose their jobs, their families will be in a dire financial crisis.”
But sometimes the axe has to fall. If you have exhausted all means and have no recourse but to fire someone, follow these tips:
1. Make sure you have a solid case. The same software engineer had to fire someone recently after gathering solid evidence and following due process. “The offenses were failure to deliver (which by itself, I would’ve had more patience), and worse, chronic dishonesty. Her dishonesty ranged from questionable expenses to saying she’s working at home when she’s somewhere else. When she discovered that she would be fired in a day or two, inunahan ako and she resigned,” he explains.
2. Have everything about the case put down in writing.
3. Talk with a lawyer to cover all possible legal loopholes.
4. Call the employee to a private meeting and state the case. According to about.com, be straightforward, civil, concise and compassionate. Give the person a chance to talk.
5. Offer advice such as what kind of job would suit the person better.
6. Have the Human Resources Department brief the employee on what to do (exit interview, turnover of company property, clearance procedure) and when to expect final payout of salary and benefits.
