No one likes terminating staff. It is an outcome that employees hate to face and it’s an action that many employers hesitate to take.

Would you move to employee termination on the basis of abusing social media, taking frequent breaks, or missing too many days of work? They are probably not serious issues if they only happen once or twice but they deserve your attention if they occur on a regular basis.

The big question is then how do you draw the line between giving your staff member a well deserved second chance verse getting them out of your organisation?

There is no easy answer but today HRwisdom shares with you some insights from Toddi Gutner, an award-winning journalist, writer and editor, about what actions you may take to keep the performance of your staff on track as well as help you to make a more informed decision of whether you should terminate a specific staff.

Click to get access to employment termination documents.

Drawing the line

Set expectations up front: You need to have clear policies and procedures about what employees can and cannot do. Specificity is the key. Argument occurs when you provide ways for ambiguity and questioning. Also, employees should be informed about exactly what is expected of them. This means that you want to focus on performance with quantifiable goals. With clear expectation, your employees perform better and you also have a better sense of where your staff are up to.

Hold employees accountable: once an employee knows the rules and is given fair warning, he or she must be held accountable. For example, if you have a policy that allows a maximum of four unexplained absences. You need to discuss with them about the issue the first time instead of the fourth time. This sends a clear message that you know they’re not at work — you care about them but that you need them to get the job done.

These actions can help you manage your employees’ performance as well as giving you a better idea of when termination should be considered.

To read the full article, go here.

Click to get access to employment termination documents.