7 Tips for Dealing with a Firing Crisis

It’s tough to nail down how many U.S. workers are fired during their careers. According to one estimate from Zippia, an online recruiting service, it’s 40%. According to Zety, a career platform, it’s 76%.

Regardless of the number, firings happen all the time in the U.S. workforce, and many of them go smoothly. But some firings create chaos — vicious shouting matches or threats of violence, for example. So, how do you handle a firing that descends into a workplace crisis?

Hayden Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Hire With Near, which helps companies assemble remote teams in Latin America, said employers should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario when firing an employee. “Even mild-mannered people can react strongly to losing their jobs, and emotional outbursts can take a lot of forms,” he said.

Cohen and other professionals in the HR business offered the following seven tips for coping with a firing crisis.

1. Carry Out the Firing in Person

Rather than firing an employee via email, video call, or phone call, you ideally should terminate them during a private face-to-face meeting. The person doing the firing should be accompanied by a witness.

“In-person meetings are the gold standard for a respectful way to fire someone. … Your ultimate goal here should be to deliver the message, then get the person out of the office and give them time to think and react on their own time. You can always handle final paperwork or exit interviews at a later date,” Cohen said.

2. Tread Carefully if the Firing Might Lead to Violence

Alisha Brown, head of Alisha D. Brown Career Consulting, said that if an employee is being fired for misconduct, especially related to issues that could prompt the fired employee to become violent, the employer should notify security or local law enforcement in advance. Obviously, security and law enforcement officials should be alerted immediately if a firing situation deteriorates into a serious crisis.

“In the event that personnel are afraid to be in the presence of this employee, it is recommended to pack up the employee’s desk or office, take an inventory and include the inventory sheet in their belongings. This box could be delivered in person at an off-site location or mailed,” Brown said.

In this situation, the employee’s termination letter could be sent by regular mail or a delivery service, she said.

3. Make Room for Dialogue

To be transparent about a firing crisis and dispel rumors, leaders of the organization should communicate with remaining workers openly and honestly, said Kim Pollock, CEO of SWBC PEO, which provides an array of HR services. This can help minimize “collateral damage” among employees who counted the fired worker as a colleague, friend, or mentor, she said.

“While it may feel safest to provide a vague reassurance, team members are looking for transparency. But it is prudent that leadership be respectful when discussing the fired employee,” Pollok said. 
 
A contentious firing can be communicated to the workforce via email, she said, but remaining workers are better served if you provide a way for them to directly express concerns and ask questions.

As part of this approach, your organization’s leaders should be visible during the aftermath, said HR specialist Brittany Truszkowski, SHRM-SCP, chief operating officer of Grand Canyon Law Group.

“It’s common to want to hide in a stressful situation, but when the air feels heavy, we need to make ourselves available,” Truszkowski said. “Show up in the breakroom. Swing by people’s desks. No big speeches — just make space for people to process” the firing.

“A firing crisis is really a leadership moment,” she added. “Your team watches how you show up — and they remember whether they felt seen, heard and respected.”

4. Encourage Supervisors to Check In with Employees

David Kochanek, head of thought leadership strategy and personal branding at ThoughtLeadership.com, said organizational leaders should keep in mind that firings, particularly “messy ones,” can prompt fear and anxiety among remaining workers. Therefore, leaders should urge managers to check in with each of their team members following a firing crisis.

“This is a chance to reaffirm the organization’s values, the expectations for respectful behavior, and that leadership is committed to a healthy work environment,” Kochanek said.

Team management expert Lia Garvin recommends that supervisors not discourage employees from expressing their emotions, such as confusion, anger, or sadness. “You have to allow space for it,” she said.

5. Avoid Making Excuses

Allyns Melendez, founder and CEO of HR services company HR Transformed, recommends acknowledging the firing but not feeling the need to divulge the reasoning behind it.

“Leaders sometimes feel like they need to overly justify a firing. All that does is make them look defensive,” she said. “Acknowledge it was a tough decision and reinforce the next steps.”

6. Emphasize Stability

When someone is fired, it might cause employees to think everyone’s job is in jeopardy. But if the firing was isolated, perhaps related to a behavioral or performance issue, employees should be assured that widespread firings or layoffs aren’t on the horizon, Garvin said.

7. Gain Knowledge from the Experience

Workplace leaders should review what occurred before, during, and after a firing crisis. Incorporating insights from this assessment, develop a plan for dealing with future firing crises, since this might not be the last one you wrestle with, Melendez said.

“These moments are learning opportunities. What could have been done differently? Were there signs that were missed?” Kochanek said. “Crisis or not, how we exit people from a company is as important as how we bring them in. And HR should treat each one as a reflection of the culture they’re helping to shape.’’

John Egan is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas.