HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
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How Do You Terminate an Employee

By Kenneth Heymann Managing Director, Heymann2 & Associates | March 2025

Of all the tasks required of management, terminating an employee is probably the most difficult and discomforting. In my years running a company and consulting with others, I found very few managers who could conduct a termination in an effective and humane way. And today more and more managers take the easy, colder way of terminating people via email.

But before one reaches the point of terminating an employee (as distinct from laying one or more people off due to business conditions or changing the work environment) there are a number of steps to go through before reaching that point. Along with the emotional and human impact on everyone, terminating an employee is also a decision with legal and financial consequences. Thus it’s important to ensure that a termination is legally sound, fair, and respectful.

Leading up to Termination

By the time you’re considering terminating someone, there should have been several conversations about performance and key incidents and concerns should have been documented. Feedback should be provided so that the individual understands the changes and improvements needed. Absent a direct violation of a company policy (drinking on the job, stealing, specific incident of insubordination, striking another employee) an employee should not be terminated based on a single act or failure. There should be performance or behavioral issues that have been addressed. And these issues should be, as much as possible, based on objective facts. In turn, the changes needed should be measurable (timeliness, frequency, etc.) as much as possible.

Once you perceive a performance issue with an employee, it’s essential to review the employee’s contract, company policies, and the employee handbook. You need to be sure that any issues that have arisen are not somehow addressed in any of the referenced sources. For example, the employee consistently leaves a half hour early.

Is that in the employment agreement as the employee is allowed to leave early for a personal reason. Or the employee doesn’t participate in company meetings as there is a sensitivity to large crowds. Just as conducting performance reviews involves being familiar with an employee’s unique circumstances, addressing perceived performance issues involves also being sure that there is not some prior agreement that supports the employee’s actions.

The Problem with PIP’s and Termination

PIP’s (Performance Improvement Plans) have become very popular over the last decade or so. In general, PIP’s are developed when a decision has been made that someone is not performing well. However, PIP’s more and more appear to be a means to the end of firing someone rather than an actual tool to improve performance. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Nov. 29, 2024), Anna Tavis, a human resource professional, says that a PIP is an oxymoron. “I spent 15 years on Wall Street and other places. It’s a cover up. It’s window dressing. None of these performance improvement plans lead to improving performance…it’s an excuse to walk you out the door and say ‘We gave you an opportunity. You didn’t perform and off you go.’”

In too many instances, a PIP is only offered to ensure that the organization minimizes the potential for litigation after termination. If PIP’s were effective, employees wouldn’t be surprised, as they so often are, when told that they are being put on a PIP. Certainly, there are some instances when a PIP makes sense. If the performance of an employee who has been performing well begins to deteriorate, it would make sense to meet with that individual and discuss the gaps. If an employee is relatively new and not performing up to expectations, a PIP can be a helpful vehicle to guide that individual over a period of a few months until performance achieves expectations.

But if a PIP comes as a surprise and the employee feels blind-sided, most will see the PIP as a set up for failure. In fact, in the same article, HR veteran Steve Cadigan noted that they assessed the effectiveness of PIP’s when he was at Cisco. “We did a five year lookback at every PIP and found that 90% of people who were placed on a formal PIP, whether or not they survived it, left within a year of that warning. Which to me suggests there’s a fundamental break in the trust of that relationship.”

As noted at the beginning, terminating an individual is often a difficult task. And, for many managers, giving people useful feedback that is intended to improve performance can also be difficult. However, if the organization has an effective performance review process and the manager is consistent in providing feedback that is targeted and appropriate, an effective performance review process will reduce the need for a PIP and even allow the organization to reasonably terminate an employee who is not performing well without the time and energy that a PIP requires, especially when the outcome is so often pre-determined.

All that said, there does come a point where you need to tell someone that they are being terminated. Following are several steps that I have found to be very helpful over the years. And while terminating an individual will always be one of my least favorite responsibilities, having a stable process with clear rules has always made it a little easier.

Preparing for the Termination

Once a decision has been made to go ahead with a termination, there are several preparatory steps.

Meet with human resources to inform them of the impending termination and review supporting documentation and company policies about termination. All companies should have a policy of always having two people conduct a termination. A manager should never conduct a termination alone as this opens the organization to accusations of inappropriate behavior during the termination process. Ideally, an HR representative should participate. But if someone from HR is not available, another manager should be in the room.

The manager should meet with finance to assess what monies are owed to the employee. Depending on the state, locale, or company policy, an employee may be entitled to severance, payment for unused vacation, payment for unreimbursed expenses, etc. The manager should know what is due to the employee and a check should be prepared to ensure that the employee is fully compensated for any monies due.

Make sure that you have reviewed any organizational protocols for termination, such as warnings, performance reviews, or a probationary period. Violating these terms may open you and the employer to legal consequences; so it’s important to follow the procedures outlined in any company policies or employment agreements.

Conducting the Termination

When you meet with an employee to conduct a termination, informing them that they are being terminated should be virtually the first thing you say. If there’s been a PIP and the employee has not performed sufficiently, you should have already shared that feedback. If the employee is being terminated for cause, you should say something to the effect of “We’re terminating you / letting you go / ending your employment because….” The reason for starting here is that it’s actually the kindest thing to do. Dragging out the process while the individual waits to hear the bad news about losing their job accomplishes nothing other than making the process more painful and more awkward. If you have done a good job of providing feedback, and helping the employee understand the consequences of poor performance you should be comfortable informing them of the decision.
Don’t apologize. If you’ve made the decisions to terminate someone, you should not say “I’m sorry.” If you’re sorry, don’t do it. Put another way, own the decision. Saying I’m sorry either suggests that this is somehow out of your control or that you’re doing something you don’t want to do. If you’ve decided that termination is in the best interest of the organization then there’s no need to apologize.
Keep it short. If you’ve given consistent feedback, you shouldn’t have to explain why the person is being let go. Thus, one should deliver the news and not go into a lengthy explanation. That should only be needed if you haven’t provided consistent feedback which has pointed to performance issues.
Don’t negotiate. Do not argue or suggest that you are open to negotiation. By the time you’re telling someone that they are losing their job, you should have given them opportunities to improve performance, been clear about changes needed, and ensured that they understand the potential consequences.
Remember - This is not about you. Don’t talk about “how bad you feel,” or how hard this is for you. You’re not the one losing your job so don’t try and solicit sympathy. It is inappropriate to ask someone to be sympathetic when you are telling them that they are losing their job. So don’t try to elicit sympathy or tell them how bad you feel.
Allow them their dignity. If necessary, offer a tissue. But learn to live with the silence that may ensue after you’ve told someone they’re losing their job. Allow them to absorb the news. Don’t fill the silence because you’re uncomfortable. After a minute or two you can go to the final step.
Tell them what happens next. Inform them about company policy around computers, removing personal effects from an office, who will be with them and help them out the door, etc. Explain all relevant information about a final paycheck, any expenses or vacation pay due and anything pertinent about a company 401K or other financial matters. If your organization offers outplacement services or career counselling, explain those services and how to take advantage of them if appropriate.

Termination and the rest of the staff. Whenever someone in an organization is terminated, other team members have to be informed as you need to address who will receive emails, etc. And the reality of organizations is that people often anticipate a termination when they know a person has received negative feedback (and people often tell their colleagues when that happens). Regardless, you should never discuss an individual’s impending termination with other members of their team or the larger organization.

In my over 40 years as a business owner and executive, I have inevitably had to terminate a number of people. It is always hard and, not surprisingly, sometimes leads me to wonder if I made a mistake hiring the person (and sometimes I did). But I have arrived at this process by thinking about both the human aspect of having to tell someone that they are losing their job and the organizational need to conduct the termination process in a straightforward, safe and professional fashion.

Mr. Heymann

A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, Ken Heymann recently stepped down from his role as COO of Unifocus where he oversaw all business operations. He is an expert on organizational development, change and quality management. Mr. Heymann was a founding partner of the Heymann Group, Inc., a consulting and asset advisory company formed in 1983. In 1998, HGI merged with Strategic Quantitative Solutions to create UniFocus, establishing the leading workforce performance firm in the service sector. Over the course of his career, he has supervised major software implementation and consulting projects in budgeting, forecasting, staff planning, quality management, and information systems for numerous organizations. These include, among others, White Lodging Hotels, Loews Hotels, KSL Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, and Accor Hotels. Mr. Heymann received his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He holds an M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Human Resource Development from the George Washington University. Extended Biography & Contact Information

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In the event that you have chosen to have your membership automatically rebilled, unless and until you notify HotelExecutive that you wish to cancel or terminate your membership to HotelExecutive, you hereby agree and authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to automatically renew your membership to HotelExecutive on a continuing basis and to charge your credit card (or other payment means you have selected) to pay for the ongoing cost of your membership. You hereby further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card (or other approved payment means you have selected) for any and all purchases of products, services and entertainment provided to in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive.

13. PRIVACY POLICY

The following is the Privacy Policy for HotelExecutive

We can be reached via telephone, email, or online at our contact page. When you visit our site we do not log any information regarding your domain or email address. Information Sharing: We do not share user information with any third parties other than via press release distribution as described below.

Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

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Promoting Wellness Through Reconnecting Guests With Nature
By Suja Chaulagain, Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

The Return of Meetings & Events: Better and More Meaningful Than Ever
By Louise Bang, Regional Vice President of Sales & Distribution, Marriott International, Caribbean + Latin America