Perhaps it's just a tweak of semantics, but in my mind, having to "let someone go" is a very different thing than "firing" them. Firing to me signifies someone has made a tremendous irreversible mistake, or someone that is completely incompetent, or embarrassed the company publicly, or embezzled money... you get the picture. (READ: seriously screwed the pooch.) These are the types that you almost, in some sadistic HR-way, enjoy telling to hit the road.
Letting someone go, on the other hand, is a very gray area for me. Saying, "we're going to have to let you go," is one of the hardest things as an HR Manager I ever have to say. It is a softer delivery, as to spare ones feelings; whereas with the pooch-screwer you could most likely care less about sparing their feelings. The "letting go" approach is like breaking up with a boyfriend who hasn't really done anything wrong per se, he's just a big dull dud when it comes down to brass tacks. It's the "I hope we can still be friends," of corporate America.
These are the hardest messages to deliver. And they must be done in person, unless of course you are Radio Shack. Having to start out a conversation with "Jim, we've got some bad news," is never pleasant for anyone with a conscience and that has no problem looking themselves in the mirror every morning. Looking into the face of utter shock and dismay is never fun.
I have had to do have this talk all too many times. It never gets any easier; I haven't been able to develop a "callous" to it yet. Nor do I want to. The day I am able to look into someone's face and tell them that their lives are now completely upside-down and the details of said unexpected bomb are being handed to them in a manila folder, and not feel like I am going to puke, is the day I hang up my HR hat. If I cease to care about people who try their hardest for our company, even if their hardest isn't quite good enough, what kind of a human resource does that make me? A pretty crappy one.
I make no apologies about caring. Terminating employment is part of my job; a job that I do and I do well, but that doesn't mean I have to like that part in particular. It just comes with the territory. It's funny though, the term "letting go." It is commonly thought that the employee who is being let go is the only one having to cope with the action of losing their job. In actuality, in my case, it is the one doing the letting go that is having to do just that; let it go, and keep on keepin' on.
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