Beth n Rod

How To Fire An Employee By Mark R. Waterfill Would you rather get your teeth drilled or fire that problem employee? It is easily the most painful part of the employment process. The case law of employment claims is rife with horrible stories of terminations gone wrong. The purpose of this article is to set out guidelines which can help to make the tooth drilling process a little easier, both for you and the terminated individual. 1. Take as much time to fire as you did to hire. The employer who decides to fire someone at 3 PM on Friday is making a terrible mistake. Never fire in a hurry, especially when you are angry. Take your time and plan both the firing decision and the means to do it. 2. Document performance to support the decision. Hopefully you have good documentation procedures in place already and have given the employee evaluations and warnings that the performance is sub par or that there is some other business reason for the termination. 3. Always tell the truth. If the termination is not for cause but because of a downsizing, then do not make up other reasons, tell the employee you have to downsize. However, if the reason given is that there is a downsizing, make sure that you are not looking to fill the position in the near future. 4. Fire the employee for what they admit to have done, not what is speculated to have happened. In almost every for cause termination situation there are facts that the employee admits which are sufficient to justify the action. Use those as the reason for the termination, not what is suspected. For example, the bank teller who admits that she failed to count the money before placing it in the bag will be fired for that and not for theft of the money which she adamantly denies. 5. Use a team to deliver the news. The team should consist of a person with authority to make the decision and one who can handle the details of the exit. It is often advisable to have a male-female team to handle the matter. 6. Consider using a termination letter. Indiana law requires a written reason be given for any termination. Moreover, the exit interview can be eased substantially by the use of a termination letter. The letter can set out a general reason for the action, and handle the details of the termination with an increased degree of professionalism. 7. Handle the money well. Know how much the employee is owed for wages, vacation, commissions, etc. By handing the fired employee an envelope with a check in the appropriate amount at the termination, you will substantially reduce the chances for lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. 8. Terminate in a neutral site such as a board room or conference room. Besides being more fair to the discharged employ, the neutral site is more flexible than the president's office. The terminated employee may want to go over every detail of removing each nick nack from the office or go over other details that the company president doesn't need to remain to discuss. By using the neutral site, these situations can be avoided. 9. Shut up. Termination interviews can be ruined by poorly stated oral presentations. You have labored over this letter which the employee is trying to read, so let them do so. The best terminations are when the employee reads the letter shakes your hand and walks out the door, nothing more to be said. Don't ruin it by talking too much. Also, don't engage in debate. The decision has been made and there is no reason to continue a discussion on the point. 10. Consider a severance package. Many employees are looking for a "package" consisting of severance and other benefits. If you are willing to pay more than two severance, you should have an employment attorney draft a complete severance and release agreement which complies with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. In the long run, you may save a lot of time and money by providing a severance package. 11. Remind the employee of any obligations to the company. In many states, including Indiana, covenants not to compete are enforceable even against employees who have been fired. Also, many employees know confidential trade secrets belonging to the company and they may not realize the liability they face for misappropriating those. It is good practice to remind employees of their obligations in the terminations letter. 12. Post-termination considerations. Do not follow all of these suggestions and then screw up the entire matter after the fact. Be aware that post-termination defamation or discrimination claims can be very expensive. Keep the circumstances of the termination confidential and instruct all others to do the same. Firing an employee is easily the hardest part of management. However, by following these guidelines you might find that what you thought would be a difficult termination turn out to be as harmless as a visit to the dentist - with no cavities. http://www.pcsi-inc.com/publications/howToFire.php

What modle is the Makita you have?

Ron, will do!

You could apply the chem with a stiff bristled brush (like a push broom) agitate the area, and wash with a surface cleaner, this will help to eliminate any possible chems getting into the air from spraying. (dip brush into bucket of chem) Just an idea... You could try EFC on it, but I don't know that it will work. It is gentler than HD. I don't know that bleach would do it either. You need something that will cut through the rubber skid marks. HD will. One thing Rod did was pick up some orange traffic cones and cuation tape. He blocks off areas he is working in. But, people around here will often ignore it and walk where you are anyway. If you have a helper, have him verbally direct people away from the area if they try to come through it while you are working. We do that. Beth

Robert, is that wet or sealed?

Randy, You're doing the wood topside, not the hull, right? Just want to be sure. If it's the hull, checl out Akzo Nobel (makers of Sikkens) they make coating for ship hulls that's tough as nails. Any idea what the square footage is you are covering?

Do you have a floor machine?

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Still got that HD-80 sample? Tree sap is resin. Resin is found in sealers....HD-80 breaks down the resins found in sealers. Give it a shot.

Great to have you Michael! :) Beth

Looks VERY nice!!!!! :) Great job Robert!

Looking good! I see the spray paint is gone. Warm Honey Gold seems to be the favorite color followed closely by Western Cedar. When people are into dark colors like California Redwood, they really love it. We just sealed our first UNDERSIDE of a deck with California Redwood. He loved it so much he wanted the whole deck covered!

Randy, what product is it and how old is it? I'm tempted to say a percarbonate like EFC-38 to clean with and you could use Wood Tux or other oil based sealer to seal with.

I agree. Use an oil, semi-transparent. When you are in the store looking for a percarbonate cleaner, read the label and look for the following: disodiumperoxydicarbonate It's the chemical name for it. Most store brand items are not that great. If there is a Wolam or a Flood product, try that in this case. Still not the best out there, but should be fine for this instance.

I think he is looking for an all in one product.

They are not in stock yet, but we will be offering defurring pads here too shortly.

Is there anything on the wood now? Or is it just dirty and grey?

First you need a percarbonate cleaner like EFC-38 to clean it and to remove the mill glaze and any wax coating from the wood. Then let it dry and apply a semi-transparent such as Wood Tux. What you charge will depend on the area you are in.

Behr has had issues in the past, and many decks have mildew problems with it. Lots of companies won't use it. We don't like to use it either. We have by request only... Beth

Welcome UP1 :) Thanks for sharing. Beth

My off the cuff answer is ANYTHING but paint. But seriously, we like Cabot for that.

That sounds fair to me, but I think we are a little higher per hour. Of course it you have a helper I would add that time in too.

How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a Tootsieroll Pop???!?!?!?!?!??? :groovy:

By the way...would love it if you would share that stripper you were using... ;)

IF it is Cuprinols solid deck stain, then yes it will strip it. If it is one of the Sherwin & Williams paints, then you have a 50/50 shot. HD-80 strips many things, but it is means to strip products that are for decks and fences, not paint per se. Do a test patch. For every coat of cuprinol give it a 20 minute dwell time, and keep applying product. Perform a scratch test with a paint stirring stick. An acrylic will not run off the wood, but will turn rubbery and eventually (possibly even a longer dwell time) will become dark through the solid. When removing use a 25 degree tip about 6-8 inches from the surface and it should fly off in chunks or strips. That's how acrylics come off. If you power up the machine too sonn, be prepared to let it dry and go back to it again. I can't stress enough that on an acrylic the dwell time may be longer - you may be waiting an hour. Call Rod on his cell 240-876-0693 for field support if you need it. He has taken of Cuprinol many times. Beth