The employee on the other side of the table being fired is only human too
👉They deserve respect
👉They deserve compassion
👉They deserve your support
👉They deserve your time and attention
Regardless of why they are sitting there
Sometimes in HR when we draft up the invite letter and prepare to engage with the employee, they can be just a name on a piece of paper, another box on the org chart, a little thumbnail photo on the email directory.
This could be our first encounter with this person, and depending on the circumstances we likely haven’t heard great things 🫣
It can be easy to disconnect and treat it like a tick box exercise.
But when they are sitting across the table from you, vulnerable, scared and overwhelmed, it’s a whole different story.
🔴They feel lost
🔴They might have just lost their purpose
🔴They don’t know how to explain this to their family
🔴They worry how they will pay their bills
🔴They are concerned for their reputation
🔴They are nervous what colleagues will say
🔴They are worried about finding future employment
As HR it doesn’t matter if you have done hundreds of these meetings, this is likely their first time and their life has just been turned upside down.
Always be mindful of this, put yourself in their shoes and never let yourself fall into autopilot.