Employee termination meetings are exceptionally difficult. Any time that you unilaterally remove someone from the workplace, anxiety increases. Fear of not finding the right words, feelings of guilt, or fear of being physically threatened make even themost selfconfident managers nervous. Companies handle the logistics of the termination meeting differently; what’s got to be consistent, however, is the compassion for the individual.

Following are general guidelines for conducting such meetings:
Treat the soon-to-be-fired employee with respect and dignity.

Invite a management witness (usually someone from human resources) to the meeting.

Give the employee as much freedom as possible to exit on his own terms.
With information-sensitive positions like those in IS or fi- nance, arrange in advance to have the individual’s computer systems shut down at the same time the termination meeting is occurring; also determine whether the individual will need to be escorted from the premises under supervision. (This is extreme and doesn’t preserve dignity; it is, however,
necessary at times.)

Tell Me More
Many managers make the common mistake of shaming employees at the time of termination. To deal with their own nervousness, they assume a militant and aggressive approach while defending their actions. Some even state, ‘‘If you’re planning on suing us, be my guest:We’ve got the best legal representation in town.’’ Such aggressiveness adds little value to any meeting. Instead, it makes the terminated employee feel angry and belittled.

Taken From : The Hiring and Firing Quention and Answer Book