Comment by Paul S. Gumbinner on March 16, 2012 at 9:52am

We've all heard stories about people being fired over the phone, via email and via telegram overseas (where in some parts of the world they still exist). Getting fired over lunch or dinner is no picnic, but it happens frequently with very senior executives.

I thought one of the strangest firings was by an advertising agency with a senior vice president who had been at the agency for more than a decade.  She had a client meeting which ran most of the day at the agency.  She and her client walked back into her office from a conference room at about 4pm to find a stranger sitting at her desk.  She looked at this person, with her client standing by her side, and said, "I beg your pardon.  Who are you and what are you doing sitting at my desk?"  The person responded, "I am Joe from office services.  You have been terminated and I am here to escort you out of the building."

She had done nothing wrong. It was merely an employee cutback.  She refused to leave.  Her client was appalled.  She marched to the president's office and asked for an explanation.  She did get an apology, but as she was standing there, Joe came barging into the president's office (he had no idea who the president was) and said, "You must come with me now or I will call the police."  It did get straightened out, but she remained terminated.  The president only then found out how things were done at his company.  Hopefully, he changed the procedures. 

Comment by Kyle Schafroth on March 16, 2012 at 10:26am

An unfortunately situation but I would suspect it was an attempt to utilize the 'never break up via text or phone' ideology. At the same time - I agree, why inconvenience someone who works remote just to have them think about "Oh, that was the table I got fired at" every time they visit a (perhaps still) favorite restaurant or other place.

When the movie Up in the Air came out I couldn't help but watch it - it was the dark side of the recruiting/HR/personnel management/...whatever you want to call it. Sounds like the story Paul heard was that dark side...the company execs or whoever should be handling the terminations are: too scared, decide they are "too busy" or there are "too many terminations" to handle themselves. You're telling someone who has dedicated their time and energy to your organization that they are no longer going to be a part of it - buck up and do it the right way albeit the difficult way.

Again, I don't think this means furiously trying to schedule a lunch date to say goodbye but hey...I'm just one opinion

Comment by Russ Cole on March 16, 2012 at 11:32am

On the flip side, terminations are also very nerve-racking and uncomfortable for the manager giving notice to the terminated employee.  It is best to consult with a knowledgeable and trusted HR expert on "best practice" for terminations.  There are so many ways a manager can inadvertently set themselves, and the company, up for a discrimination or wrongful termination lawsuit, often by trying to do or say something they think will lessen the pain.  For example, "Bob, you have been a dedicated employee for 15 years, but...".  And most terminations don't happen overnight.  It takes time to collect proper documentation, ensure proper procedures have been followed, etc.  Managers need to be sure everything is in order and have an approved plan that respects the employee, and keeps the work environment and co-workers as uninvolved as possible.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 16, 2012 at 1:05pm

Here's the question.  In a situation where an employee is working remote.  Would you have felt better if you had been asked to drive 40 miles to be terminated?  Would it have not been less appropriate if the supervisor had come to your home to terminate you?  In this situation my take is that it was perhaps the most respectful way to terminate a contract employee by meeting for lunch and the supervisor taking the time to drive to your location rather than notifying by phone or email or showing up on your doorstep.

 

All of my clients who have people working in the field from home offices in sales or any other position contact the employee and have them meet them at the airport or a hotel or restaurant to deliver the bad news face to face and be as supportive as possible.  Most of the time the meeting includes the immediate supervisor and someone from HR who can answer those questions everybody asks about severence, insurance, commissions due, returning cell phones and laptops.  They do not ask them to come into the home office where they will be away from home without support of family or friends and/or have to take the walk of shame through the corporate office when everyone knows they work in a remote location, or did. 

Comment by Maisha Cannon on March 16, 2012 at 2:28pm

Great insights, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! 

@Sandra I definitely hear what you're saying, and yes, in hindsight I can see it was absolutely an attempt by my supervisor to show support in an adverse situation. It was better for her to drive the 40 miles than for me to have driven all the way to the home office for the news. And you're so right, having her show up on my doorstep would have been the pits!

@Russ I like your statement about "having an approved plan that respects the employee." In these ever changing times within our workplaces, that's really all we can do. Being let go/resigning/moving on is part of the process of developing our careers.

@Kyle I'll have to check out Up In The Air again and watch it from a more critical perspective and not from the eyes of a drooling George Clooney fan. #freeCLOONEY, by the way ;-)

@Paul Wow, that was one tensely uncomfortable situation you described. Ouch. You learn you're being let go from an office services employee who's sitting at your desk, in front a client you've spent all day working besides? After ten years of service, that had to have been both surreal and gut wrenching. How unfortunate.

Comment by Doug Washington on March 19, 2012 at 11:06am

In 1996, way before Up in the Air, Jerry Maguire had the public lunch firing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr1nRGjbkZ0

Comment by Kyle Schafroth on March 19, 2012 at 11:14am

@Doug - how could I have forgotten about Jerry Maguire! Like Dicky said, "The key to this business is personal relationships"

Comment by Maisha Cannon on March 19, 2012 at 7:32pm

Doug,

You're so right! Classic scene. And Jerry didn't even get to order lunch!

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