You've been TERMINATED....BY E-Mail?????

WOW! I read another instance of this. I thought the fact that when I had a client terminate via e-mail it was unique!!! Not in todays world.

THIS is a shining example of how impersonal the internet has made us in our generations. What is the conversation in the HR office? "Well.... Bill has been lax and lacking performance. I think you should send him an e-mail and let him go.."

Let me go on the record here. If I was EVER termed via e-mail. I would be more confrontational than if I was hauled in an office and the conversation was had with me. There is too many open variables that can slip through the cracks. I will take it face to face man to person way better and in my case of being laid off. I actually welcomed it.

What about the pay needs to hit in 72 HRS upon being termed? Cobra? Can I claim un-employment? is this completely performance related or is there an underlying issue? By e-mail. You never know.

I understand that an e-mail leaves an audit trail and also puts it in writing? But what about the "human factor"? What if there is a mis-communication... I am sure we have all had it via email. I know I face it often.

The bottomline.... How gutless it is to terminate via e-mail. If you have EVER been termed via e-mail.... I hope you put yourself on the other side first. If you have.... than you are truly a unique individual. Some of the nicest people I know I had to term at one point or another for various reasons. But I always have managed to salvage a connect or opportunity out of them. Just because they couldn't perform in one environment doesn't mean they will not perform in another and quite possibly, Your competetor.

Let take a word of caution here. Terminating via e-mail will always reflect on the person doing it and NOT the person executing the termination. Keep that in mind as well. No matter how you slice it, You are looking for a bad experience by using this practice.