Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/104399
business bests "The goal is not termination. The goal is to gain the performance you want," says Bill Cook, president of Human Resource Associates, a management-consulting firm in the Washington, D.C. area that provides business guidance to a variety of clients including members of the landscape association, PLANET. And because hiring and training a replacement can be costly, you should explore all options, which may include retaining the employee and helping him to correct his behavior. In that respect, Cook advises clients to eliminate everything not connected to job performance when evaluating the employee and the situation. While some situations like theft typically warrant an im- "The termination should never be a surprise to the employee." mediate dismissal, other grievances, such as tardiness or low productivity, can usually be managed and corrected. Ask yourself why you want to terminate the person. Have you terminated employees with comparable performance? Do you see anything personal or not job related in your reasons? Have you exhausted all other remedies? Write the answers to these questions down and discuss the points with an impartial third party. If you decide to terminate the employee, move swiftly, but thoughtfully. Create a paper trail "When it rises to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) or courtroom stage, the party with the highest pile of good documents wins," Cook says. All infractions should be documented. First, give an employee a verbal warning along with earnest guidance on how he can improve, and document you have done so. If the problem persists, give a written warning, and have the employee sign a copy to be kept in his personnel file. At this stage, you may also choose to put him on probation, with a clear beginning and end point. Let the employee know that he will be terminated at the end of the probation if his performance does not improve. "The termination should never be a surprise to 18 To ta l L a n d s cap eCare.c om TLC0113_BusBest2.indd 18 the employee," Cook says. "By this point, he has been aware of the Remember to colsituation for some time." lect all company property such as Carefully documentkeys, credit cards, ing employment violapasswords, laptops tions can also save you and cell phones from paying unemploybefore the termiment. "A thick employnated employee ment file makes that go leaves the building. away quickly," says Jeff You don't want to Schwartz, president of revisit the situation weeks later. Ashton Manor Environmental in Ashton, Maryland. "It doesn't matter if your documentation is perfect. What matters is that it is there." Schwartz also provides a handbook to every employee, outlining rules, expectations and consequences for breaking rules. Schwartz has terminated six employees in his 10 years of business. Like Cook, he understands the importance of documenting infractions. He also holds weekly safety meetings, so employees know what is expected of them in regards to operating equipment, driving company vehicles, etc. He fired one "well-liked" employee after he damaged three pieces of equipment on three separate occasions. No one was injured. The third, incident, which Schwartz says "was the straw that broke the camel's back and was preventable," the individual rolled and totaled a skid steer loader. Ironically, skid steer safety was covered at a staff meeting the week before. Schwartz documented all of the incidents as well as the safety meeting. "Not only do we have to protect our equipment and reputation, we have to protect our other employees on the site," he says. TIP Document everything to protect you and your business. J A N U A R Y 2 013 12/20/12 3:30 PM