Termination: how to prepare and conduct a difficult conversation - Interview with Heike Schümann (3/3)

This is the third part of our interview with Heike Schümann, Principal Consultant at Pleinert & Partner, and our expert on termination management. The interview was conducted by Dr. Helena Pleinert, Founder and CEO of Pleinert & Partner.

Q: Heike, after talking about the challenges of termination management and presenting some examples and cases you have offered to sketch out a checklist with concrete recommendations.

A: Indeed, I would like to start with some practical points of how to plan and organize the meeting where a termination is communicated. Firstly, professional preparation is everything. The better prepared you are as the person in charge, the smoother the conversation, which is difficult for all sides, will go. Organizational and content-related planning creates the appropriate framework for the break-up discussion.

• Where? The choice of the physical or virtual space

If you conduct the meeting at a physical location: choose a discreet and quiet room. The conference room in the middle of the open-plan office is just as unsuitable as the semi-open sitting area or the room by the corridor towards the canteen. Ensure that communication devices in the room are muted and that no employee bursts in during the conversation.

In case the meeting takes place in a virtual space some of the same things apply: make sure to eliminate the potential of interruptions, at least on your side of the line, by calling from a closed, quiet room. Also, good video quality is essential to get your message across precisely the way you intend it and avoid misunderstandings that could make the situation even more difficult.

• When? The right time, and times that are out of the question

Actually, there is no really good time for a break-up talk. However, there are a few days that are definitely out of the question. These include, of course, the birthday of the person concerned, the company anniversary or the visit of an important customer. Friday afternoons or afternoons of days before holidays are not suitable as the person may not have a suitable support network outside of work and should not be left to go off to be potentially alone with their disappointment immediately after the decision is communicated. Also, the person should have the opportunity to talk to colleagues, for example in HR, who are relevant for the next steps. In fact, helping the person focus on the next concrete steps can help them deal with the situation.

•  Who? Select the people involved

It is also advisable to have a further discussion partner present during the separation interview. The next higher-level supervisor or a representative from HR, or a lawyer are good choices. After the conversation there should be one main contact who will accompany the entire separation process: in general this will be the direct supervisor.

Q: Does every break-up talk become emotional? How can a supervisor prepare for these kind of situations?

A: Supervisors should know their teams well. When preparing for the interview, they should consider in advance how the person concerned might react to the separation and how they can prepare for it. Depending on their personality type and personal situation, employees react very differently to the unpleasant news.

You need to ask yourself: what is at stake for this individual? A highly qualified single person who likely can obtain several new offers in a short time is in a different situation than a person with average level qualifications who is the sole bread winner of a family. Both may feel the termination shows a lack of recognition of their contributions, but for the second person, much more is at stake financially.

Depending on their personality type, people may also react either combatively, in a quick-tempered or even aggressive manner or by trying to involve their superiors in negotiations and discussions, or they may remain silent or even cry openly. Anticipating the likely type of reaction makes it more easy to prepare and react in an appropriate way.

In addition it is also important to find out in advance which non-affected colleague in the company has a close relationship with the affected person and can support the person if necessary.

All this said, termination and separation are not easy, but they are among the things that those of us who pursue a career in management have to master.

Heike Schümann is a Principal Consultant at Pleinert & Partner, and brings comprehensive experience in transition and change management and organizational development to her consulting practice, with a particular focus on executive training and coaching; her prior professional experience in production management, international relocation of processes and production, supply chain development and the development of efficient purchasing departments in the consumer goods sector; she holds a degree in Engineering with a specialization in Supply Chain Management, Production and Procurement and is a certified SCRUM-Master.

Dr. Helena Pleinert is the Founder & CEO of Pleinert & Partner; she is an experienced management consultant and executive coach, and prior to that has worked in people management in-house. In addition, she teaches MBA and doctoral classes at UIBS Business School where she is also a Member of the Academic Council. She holds a PhD in Technical Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, a Masters in Physics Engineering, and has attended the Program for Executive Development at the IMD in Lausanne.