Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 5, 2014 May 5, 2014 22 22 INSIGHT INSIGHT Consider your safety in terminations Consider your safety in terminations In wake of stabbing spree, an HR professional and police offi cer discuss ways to minimize risks In wake of stabbing spree, an HR professional and police offi cer discuss ways to minimize risks If you're like me, you probably bend over backwards when preparing for an employ- ee termination. You ensure the package is fair and the paperwork is complete, the employee's manager is prepared — he knows what to say, what not to say and when and how to make a graceful exit — and you've planned the meeting in such a way as to reduce the discomfort of the departing employee as much as possible. If you're like me, you've studied the termination package to ensure you can answer any questions the employee may have. You've probably tried not to think too much about how the meeting could go wrong. And you're probably dreading what you are about to do. But you haven't done your due diligence if you haven't also con- sidered your safety. Employees at any organization represent society and, therefore, we can expect them to reflect both the good and the bad of so- ciety. We can expect that some- times good people will make bad decisions and some people may struggle to control their emotions when under pressure. We can ex- pect there may be people whose reaction to losing their jobs may be unpredictable and possibly violent. e most dangerous thing you could do, in planning a termi- nation, is to underestimate the possibility of a violent incident occurring. Is it statistically unlikely? Sure. But it only has to happen once. Taking the time to consider these possibilities and take some simple precautions is a small investment of time and eff ort. Being fearful isn't helpful but being prepared is smart. Before the termination When preparing for a termina- tion, be alert to possible behav- ioural red fl ags — purposely seek- ing out any information you can to unearth them should remain a priority. Learn as much as you can about the departing employee: Read the employee fi le thoroughly, review the coaching notes or employee relations files and talk to the manager. You are trying to build up a picture of how the departing employee may react. Does he have a history of aggressive or unpredictable behaviour? Are there any known stressors at home, such as fi nancial issues or relationship breakdowns, that may make the employee experi- ence the loss of income or work identity more acutely? Has progressive discipline or ongoing performance issues led to a tense or strained relationship with his manager? Depending on the information you uncover, form a strategy to manage any identifi ed risks. If the employee has a history of aggres- sion or interpersonal diffi culties, consider having security posted outside the meeting room while it takes place — or, in extreme cases, discuss with legal counsel the pos- sibility of conducting the meeting over the phone with paperwork to follow via courier. Regardless of the information gathered, the nature of the meet- ing requires a level of heightened alert during the termination dis- cussion — despite your research, you don't know how an employee will react. Plan the logistics of the meet- ing thoughtfully, with caution and common sense. Attempt to balance discretion on behalf of the departing employee with your own safety. Find a balance between a pri- vate location and one that's de- serted. If possible, conduct the termination in a meeting room in the vicinity of the rest of your HR team or at least where there is some foot traffi c. ough we typi- cally try to conduct terminations either in the morning or late in the day, this shouldn't be taken to the extreme — there is no reason to conduct a termination so early or so late that no one else is in the building. Similarly, there is no reason to keep the planned exit entirely confi dential to the point of endan- gering yourself or the employee's manager. Ensure a trusted mem- ber of the HR team is aware you will be conducting a termination, along with the location and time it is planned to commence (often another member of the HR team will already be aware the termina- tion is planned). If possible, have them walk past the meeting room periodically to listen for signs of a deteriorating situation. If there is on-site security, it is a sensible precaution to inform them of a planned exit shortly before it commences. Seriously consider arranging for an out- placement consultant to be on- site during the termination and have her wait in the next room. Not only will she will be an ad- ditional person who can assist or seek assistance if things start to deteriorate, but after the meeting she will be able to help the em- ployee start to work through his emotions before he has to face the world. Something as simple as helping the employee fi gure out how he is going to communicate the news to his family can have a huge impact in defusing negative emotions. In preparing for the meeting, take the cautious approach one step further — visit the meeting room in advance of the termina- tion meeting and use the space to enhance your safety. Take ad- vantage of the barriers furniture provide. Plan where everyone is going to sit. Typically there are three people present during a termina- tion: the departing employee, his manager and an HR representa- tive. You should never fi nd your- self in the situation of having the departing employee positioned to block your exit. Similarly, there should never be anyone sitting directly behind the employee. is causes stress and could exacerbate the nega- tive emotions the employee will be feeling. Sit across the table from the employee and close to the door. Inform the manager in advance of where you recommend she sit during the meeting. Also, if pos- sible, choose chairs with safety in mind. Switch them around or grab some from a neighbour- ing room to ensure you and the manager have swivel chairs on wheels to allow you to jump up or away from the table quickly. Give the employee a stationary chair to avoid giving him the same advantage. PREPARE > pg. 23 Lauren Chesney Guest Commentary THE VIOLENCE AT Ceridian shocked the HR community. Here's a sampling of comments made on managing editor Todd Humber's blog (see Editor's Notes, page 21) in the days after the stabbings: Sometimes bad things happen to good companies I am happy to see that people aren't rushing to judgment on this case until all of the facts are uncovered, particularly in the case of a company like Ceridian where one would as- sume it had "all of its ducks in a row" prior to the termination. It is quite ironic this company is a major provider of employee assistance programs. Therefore, one would assume Ceridian has access to all kinds of expert advice relating to termination and the possible psychologi- cal and social consequences of termination. Because of all of this, I am inclined to think Ceridian conducted all of the proper due diligence surrounding this termination and handled it correctly. Unfortunately, bad things do happen to good companies and it is never possible to eliminate all of the risks inherent in volatile situations like difficult employee terminations. One can speculate but it is never certain exactly how someone is going to react in such a situation. — Brian Kreissl HR advocacy While I agree that being called into HR puts most people in a panic (similar to being called into the principal's office), it should never justify violence. I feel terribly sorry for those people in HR who were doing their jobs. This employee was obviously un- der a lot of pressure to lash out in that way. I was always trained as an HR profession- al that, if handled properly, a termination should never be a surprise for an employee. It will be interesting to see how the details of this case come out. It appears that Cerid- ian was conducting this termination prop- erly. There were several people present — hopefully one of them was a representative for the employee. Sometimes sitting across from all of those people against you can make you feel like there is no one on your side. Especially knowing the termination was inevitable... sometimes an employee just wants to be heard. — Yolanda We need more information It is still early after the event. The courts and investigation may reveal more informa- tion. A violent outburst following a termi- nation or disciplinary action is not normal in any way. Talk about prevention is quite ambitious, but this is not a simple problem. Perhaps this will bring more awareness about mental health and mental distress af- fecting the worker and the workplace. — Suzan HR not necessarily neutral ground Todd, you wrote "The meeting may have even been held in the HR department, which puts it on neutral ground." That is, unfortunately, an unsubstantiated assump- tion on your part; we do not know if Li per- ceives the HR department as neutral or not. On non-HR Internet message boards, one can easily find many people who passion- ately insist HR is anything but "neutral." — Andrew J. Yu EAP's consultation services I do think there needs to be a rethink about how terminations are handled. The impact of job loss on an individual is significant, ranging from a loss of ability to meet fami- lies' needs to a personal sense of loss of val- ue, impact on self-esteem and, in the case of someone who may not be well, impact on his health, including his mental health. I would recommend that an EAP be con- sulted by managers and HR to consider the possible impact, and determine any warning signs of potential reactions in order to put in place any measures that would mitigate risk to all individuals involved. And it may be that all of this was done. Oftentimes, the EAP is only considered as a resource for counselling and not as a consultation resource for HR and managers to plan for a difficult situation. — Hélène Grandmaître Goes to show how hard HR can be For all those who say HR handles the "warm and fuzzy" stuff, perhaps this will change their minds. — Anonymous Not changing my mind One of the commentators said this incident might make people change their minds about HR — it doesn't make a difference to me. Obviously, this incident is disturbing and we all wish the best for the victims. And though HR does a lot of organiza- tional dirty work, I still think the profession does more harm than good. I have worked in enough organizations where HR has stepped in and prevented me from termi- nating an employee I knew was a problem. Not because I didn't like the person (I'm not that shallow) but because she was not doing a good job or just was a bad fit. The man who stabbed people may very well have had a manager who wanted to get rid of him a long time ago, but whose hands were tied by an HR department who wanted to document everything. HR still does way too much warm and fuzzy stuff for my liking, and they prevent effective managers from being able to jetti- son problematic employees. Again, I am not saying that's what happened in this case. — Chris Ceridian's HR nightmare Organizations need to start thinking more carefully about security protocols, particu- larly in protecting those who have to handle this sort of thing. As an HR professional who has handled many terminations, I've often had that lingering thought in the back of my mind — what happens if this person turns violent? Particularly in industrial set- tings, this is at least a remote possibility. As for Chris' comment (above): 1. HR prevents you from dismissing em- ployees at your own whim likely because a) you don't know employment law (as a front-line supervisor, you're usually not ex- pected to) and b) every organization needs those who impose sober second thought on these kinds of decisions (you are affecting peoples' livelihoods, after all). 2) If you think HR does "more harm than good," why are you reading and comment- ing on the HR Reporter site? Just a thought... — Colin Union presence? I'm not arguing it would have made a differ- ence in this terrible case but in unionized workforces, a union rep would have been present. This would mean the employee wouldn't be alone and someone experienced would be able to speak for her. — Anonymous Join the conversation online. Comment freely on any blog on www.hrreporter.com. READER COMMENTS

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