Other Considerations
There are other things that must be done or considered during the termination meeting.
1. Retrieve company equipment. Be sure you take possession of any company equipment that is in the terminated employee’s possession: computers, company cars or vehicles, cell phones, etc. If the terminated employee doesn’t have immediate access to any of this equipment, ask the individual to list them and discuss how to get these things returned.
2. Obtain company cards. You should ask the terminated employee to return any company issued credit cards, purchasing cards, telephone cards, etc., that may be in his or her possession. If the cards are not in the employee’s possession, notify the credit card issuer immediately to cancel the card (this is a good idea to do in either situation). Instruct the terminated employee that he or she is no longer authorized to use any credit cards that were previously issued by the organization for work purposes. Find out if there are any outstanding balances on these credit cards (if you haven’t already done so ahead of time) and discuss any reimbursements that may be necessary.
3. Obtain employee passwords. Ask the terminated employee for all his or her passwords to computers or computer systems that he or she has or has previously used on the job. Call your IT department to have these passwords immediately disabled. Get any security codes that the terminated employee has had access to during his or her employment, and consider having these codes changed for security purposes (more on security issues is presented in Chapter 4).
4. Obtain employee identification. If the employee was issued a company identification, get it at this meeting. If the ID has access scanning capabilities, have them disabled immediately.
5. Obtain keys. Ask for any keys to buildings, offices, files, etc., that the terminated employee has been issued and/or has made copies of. If necessary, have the locks changed to the building or office.
6. Discuss confidentiality agreements. Review any confidentiality agreements or rules that the terminated employee will be expected to honor after leaving the organization. Provide a copy of any such agreements or related policies during this meeting and be prepared to answer any questions concerning these agreements.