Bullshit them. No one wants to be the grim reaper but sometimes it can’t be avoided. Are you afraid they will react and freak out? Most don’t.
I haven’t fired that many people but I’ve been around 100’s of people walking out of their cubes with boxes over the past 10 years. Heck I work in a call center environment what do you expect? 95% are so in shock they don’t say anything much.
The worse thing you could do is drag it on and not be direct with them. They already know something is up by getting called into the HR office with the HR director and manager. It’s your job to be as quick and painless as possible. If you were the one who recommended they get let go or you recommended them for the job you should be the one firing them if possible.
Ever watch Money Ball or Hard Knocks on HBO when they are making the cuts? It really pretty similar in business. Most of the times it not personal but in certain cases it can be. No matter how hard you work if you don’t understand the game and dynamics of a company you still may be gone. The downside of business.
Back to being direct….
It can be tough to rip the band aid off if you will but it pays to be direct and have some empathy. I’m sorry but we need to let you go. Period. That simple. I know it sucks, it does but don’t beat around the bush and give them some corporate bullshit. One final point, let them say good bye to the team members don’t say something like: “please exit the premises immediately”. Remember they are still in shock.
One final important point: Look them in the eye when you are telling them. It’s not as easy as you think. It’s always worse than you think it will be.
