I first “met” Licensed Professional Counselor Camille McDaniel when I was hanging out on the Georgia Therapists’ Network. The thing that first caught my eye is that her involvement there was thoughtful and supportive of her peers. I’ve been following Camille for a while now watching her build a really useful blog for entrepreneurial counselors. When I learned that she had hired her mother as her office manager, I had to know more. That inquiry has led to Camille graciously guest posting today on terminating an employee in your office.
(If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out the guidelines here.)
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A Guest Post by Camille McDaniel, LPC, NCC, CPCS
You’re Fired!
I once read somewhere that termination is not something you do to someone; it’s something you do for someone. This stuck with me and it will be important later in this blog post.
“You’re Fired!” The phrase is one we have heard on television, read in print, or maybe experienced personally. It brings up thoughts of a mean aggressor being unfair to a less powerful person who is just trying to make money to feed their family.
Rarely, do we see images of a boss scared to terminate their employee due to fear of seeming mean, being scared of the employees reaction, or the fear that employees will tarnish the reputation of that private practice.
However, these are some of the reasons I have heard for counseling colleagues keeping silent or passive when it comes to this management task. I admit I have had some hesitation when I needed to take this step with clinicians in my own practice. Let’s take a look at what it means to terminate an employee and how to get it done!
Weeds in Your Practice
You are the master gardener of your private practice. You help to plant seeds of empowerment with employees and clients, you water those seeds with patience, kindness, and firmness, and you help to identify weeds that are strangling the life out of your private practice.
Weeds can represent many things, not just client challenges within the counseling session.
Weeds can present in the following forms:
- The apathetic receptionist whose negative presentation can be felt through the phone and in person,
- The clinician who has their client waiting because they always come to the office 5-10 minutes late for counseling sessions,
- The clinician who doesn’t have a single note in many of their client files and ignores your requests to get caught up, or
- The clinician who attracts clients but can’t seem to keep them beyond 2-3 sessions and you think it may be their clinical skills.
What You Need to Know and Do
When you decide to terminate someone from your practice, you are saying I have identified a weed that needs to be pulled. Terminating an employee is not just doing something to someone. You are doing this for the health of your practice, any clients that may frequent your practice, and any referral sources who put their confidence in the quality of your services.
When the day comes to terminate your employee, you want to make sure you have observed a few important practices. This will help to make sure you are terminating lawfully. (Some information was obtained from the Small Business Administration.)
- Communicate and document along the way. If the person is not performing job duties or following the policies established in the contract they signed, make sure you have shared these specific issues with the individual and documented it in their personnel file before terminating.
- Have a witness. If you have reason to believe the person being terminated might escalate, have another person in the room with you as a witness and help.
- Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Terminating an employee shouldn’t drag on. You want to share the concerns that were not corrected, how this impacts the practice as a whole, and the action that must be taken i.e. termination.
- Use active listening. It’s natural for the employee to want to vent. Just listen for a moment and let them release the mixed emotions that are likely coming up. Then gently bring it to a close.
- Know exactly what you need to collect from the employee. Make sure to get all copies of keys, files, and any other property that the employee may possess. Change access to calendars and billing.
- Maintain continuity of care. Have a list of referrals available within your practice or elsewhere for clients to continue to receive care, after their therapist is gone. You may call them to explainin your sorrow for the departure of their therapist and offer other options for continuing counseling within the group or provide them with outside referrals.
- Know when it’s illegal to terminate an employee. Federal anti-discrimination laws prevent employers from firing because of age, race, gender, religion or disability. You also can’t fire employees for complaining about any illegal activity, or exercising their legal rights including family medical leave, military leave, time off to vote or serve on a jury.
- Know when you have to pay. Employers are not required by federal law to immediately give former employees their final paycheck. Some states, however, may require immediate payment. Contact your State Labor Office for information on requirements in your state.
Final Notes on Terminating Your Employee
If the person you are terminating holds a position where they coordinate many daily tasks such as your billing and scheduling, make sure you first know exactly what they do. That includes knowing
- the systems they interact with,
- the passwords they have access to,
- whether their name is primary on any important services you have, and
- that they cannot remotely access any of your systems once terminated.
Consider this to be a cautionary tale . . . . I recently heard about a psychologist who, after over two decades in practice, had a major setback when a disgruntled secretary turned his practice operations upside down and he didn’t know half of what she had access to in the first place.
Have you ever had to terminate an employee in your practice? Or, have you ever been terminated from employment? Drop in today to share what you learned from the experience so that we can better serve our selves, our clients, and our businesses, too.
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About the Author: Camille McDaniel, LPC, NCC, CPCS is the founder and
director of Healing Psychotherapy Practices of Georgia, LLC in Kennesaw, Georgia. She is also the creator of an online business called The Counselor Entrepreneur. You can find more about her work at http://www.CamilleMcDaniel.com.
This is a great post!! I do not have employees, but I’d like to expand in the future. Its very important to know how and when to terminate an employee. What do you think about hiring/outsourcing/having an HR department for your practice? For instance, like you hire a biller to do your insurance billing, would that work with hiring an HR department to manage HR stuff?
Hi, Mercedes! You’ve been away too long! I’ve missed your voice here. While it’s certainly possible to outsource your hiring, my preference would be to do my own. Ultimately, I’m responsible for who is interfacing with the public and how they are doing so as an extension of my business, and I rely a lot on my own intuition and gut responses. Having said that, the benefit of outsourcing this piece might include their up-to-date knowledge of the laws and practices in my jurisdiction. Can you think of other benefits to having someone else hiring new therapists, administrative support, etc. for you?
Hi Tamara! No, I guess not! I think it’s just overwhelming to have to create all the HR documents and hire and train. I think I would definitely want someone to help with setting it all up, but I would make the final decisions.
Tamara and Mercedes
While I some therapists do hire their own employees, my experience I have found that some
“just aren’t good at it” or they don’t want to spend the time doing HR work. In my past position as Director of a counseling center for 8 years, I hired (and fired) therapists . It’s ALOT of work, but I have a great system and have found quality therapist. It’s probably not easy or normal to find a VA that has had experience and skill to do this, but it is possible. 🙂 Maybe a combo of outsourcing, BUT having the therapist have the final say is a good way to go! In addition, I did the training and overseeing of staff (with the exception of the clinical training).
I could DEFINATELY help you do this Mercedes. I am good at it and I love to see a new therapist get up and running and successful!
Frances! Welcome back! And, thank you for pointing out that none of us are good at everything. Not recognizing that and not being willing to bring in others to my practice who could compensate for my weaknesses definitely cost me early on in the field. I’ve been in mental health for 30 years now, the last 20 in private practice. Bringing in the right people to augment what I do best is one of the lessons I learned later that has paid off in spades!
Thanks so much for noting the role the right Virtual Assistant can play and the choice to outsource! (By the way, I’m so excited to be sharing your guest post here next week!)
Thanks Tamara!
I truly believe the keywords you used is “the right people”. Relationships are really the success for each of us. I will talk about that more in the post! 🙂
I am grateful for the opportunity to be a guest here!
That’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way, Frances. I’ve hired friends and family and acquaintances and strangers over the last 30 years for different tasks. I’ve learned that just because I love you doesn’t mean you are the right person for the job. And, the flip side is also true – total strangers may know exactly what to do to support my work. BUT, either way, I need to be willing to build the relationships . . . otherwise, it’s never with the right people.
Hi Mercedes!! I am glad you liked this post. I don’t think you would need to hire an HR team but you should know who to consult if you need to. Now for me the office manager would be my go to. She retired from IBM as a HR Partner, after 30 years of service. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has a website that is also very helpful.
Hey, Camille! I’m thinking that your mom may have another income source looming! Is she interested in consulting with other therapists who may have questions about . . . HR matters?:)
Tamara now this is actually an angle I don’t think she considered but my goodness she would be amazing at it! She was definitely known and awarded for the work she did, while at IBM. I will ask her about this. Great idea Tamara! I really didn’t know there might be a need but I can surely see it now 🙂
🙂
Oh, thanks for that resources Camille!
Great article. Full of insight and reflection. A great eyeopener. Thank you very much. I never reflected so much on my small practice, but as a Play Therapist and supervisor, I had decided that the practitioners that use my play room are my supervisees. Like that I can keep an open working relationship in which we are both aware that we are both responsible for what goes on in the practice.
Hi, Mary Rose! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out! Do you know that there are legal and ethical responsibilities (and liabilities!) that come with clinical supervision? There was a time when I did not know that. It sounds like you have hired(?) practitioners that you really trust to share your play room. Good for you. (And, do you know that in some states, it is not legal for you to hire individuals that you also supervise? It’s often illegal due to the inherent conflict of interests.)
Mary Rose, I hope you’ll drop back in often to chat and share your practices and insights with us as we continue to grow our practices!
Tamara, Can you reflect on what you said about it possibly being illegal to hire someone that you also supervise? I see what you’re saying about conflict of interest, but a lot of people have supervision through employers, so I’m not sure what you mean. Thanks!
Oh, Lauren! Yes! Thank you for asking for clarification. I am talking specifically about clinical supervision for the purpose of seeking licensure as a Professional Counselor, Clinical Social Worker, or Psychologist. In some states, you are not allowed to be in a dual role with your clinical supervisee – especially one in which you may benefit financially.
Oh, okay. I see what you mean now. For counselors for whom I know they have had supervision from their employer, it was just a welcome addition to being employed there. I don’t believe there is any other money being exchanged. Thanks!
When I was an intern, the psych hospital employed so many interns / therapists-in-training that they contracted with an outside supervisor to come in to provide group supervision. And, post-graduation, while working on my supervision hours, I was able to get that paid for as well by my employer. That was over 20 years ago. Today, many states no longer allow that – noting that employers may have the opportunity to obtain cheap labor while holding the therapist-in-training’s license over her head. With so many incidents of unethical practices (on the part of institutions), I do understand why the laws / rules have changed. Unfortunately, it has made it more difficult and more burdensome for the newer mental health professional to get his / her clinical supervision.
Mary Rose, I am glad this post could give you more to think about. Having employees is a serious undertaking so it’s always great when we are prepared for any challenges that may come up!
Camille, I so appreciate you taking time to share this guest post here and staying engaged with the conversations that arise. I have so many friends / colleagues who have found themselves in the situation of having to consider / act on terminating an employee in their own offices. The horror stories abound! More than one have started out “just offering a new therapist space to see a few clients”; they became friends; they entered into verbal agreements (with no written contracts); differences happened (about a zillion different things); feelings got hurt; there was never a plan for how to resolve differences; sometimes complaints were filed and grievances were initiated; and, in the end . . . “you’re fired.”
Only sometimes, that’s not the end . . . . Gossip ensues. Reputations are ruined or at least seriously damaged. And, lawsuits are filed. Camille, your words have sensitized many of us to healthier ways to run a group practice. Thank you!
Thank YOU Tamara for giving me this opportunity to share. The pleasure was truly all mine!
Dear Tamara, I am not from the states. I live on an Island in the middle of the Mediterranean. I am European. Your comments set me thinking and I will certainly look up such laws in my country. It is not a hiring of practitioners. They have their own clientele and simply rent my room per hour. I will not dream of renting out my playroom to anybody other than those who have had my same training.
Hey, Mary Rose, then a double welcome and a double thank you for taking time to share what may be significant differences. Shame on me for not being cognizant of the possibility that you are from somewhere other than the USA! We actually have at least 87 different countries represented in our online community here. So I’m happy to count your voice among them.
It is so helpful to hear from counselors outside of the USA (and to know that you are from outside of the USA) so that (1) we can all become more sensitized to this global world we live in and (2) so that we can learn how different cultures and different countries manage the issues of mental health and private practice.
I hope, Mary Rose, that if you feel comfortable doing so, you will let us know what island / country you are hailing from and what you learn about the laws in your country. It’s likely there is at least one other mental health professional in your country hanging out here and eager to learn!
Thank you for your warm welcome Tamara. I hail from the island of Malta, just beneath the island of Sicily (of Italy). I’d like to refer to 2 points stated above.
The Professionals that hire my room are already qualified play therapists, licensed, if you will, and are not my employees. They do not working for me. They have their own clientele, but not the premises to work from.
On another note I would love to know more about written agreements for people using one’s premises. Is there a template? what has to be taken into consideration in the contract?
Malta! I know where that is! How cool!
Mary Rose, thanks for the clarification that you are not hiring other professionals; instead, those licensed play therapists are renting space from you! Got it. And, so I should say that here in the USA, some mental health licensing boards and / or local jurisdictions prohibit a clinical supervisor from renting space to a supervisee – Again, that, too, would then be considered a dual relationship from which a supervisor would then be financially profiting.
You are asking about a contract and what needs to be taken into consideration for that contract for space. I don’t have a template to share with you on this but have been meaning to pull something on this for you guys. Hmmm. I wonder if there is someone that would like to guest post on this topic? If so, please check out my Guest Posting Guidelines and let me know! Otherwise, I’ll pull this together in the next few months. I know a lot of you could use this.
Thanks, Mary Rose, for suggesting it!
Great job, Camille! I agree with Tamara that one of the first thing that always stands out about you is how you want to help counselors truly master the structure of your business. I will definitely be bookmarking this article!
It struck me that that the psychologist in your example really set himself up for a challenge, because he had no plan not only for employee termination, but in case of death or incapacitation. As a solo practitioner, I often find myself worrying about what will happen to my clients if I unexpectedly died or became incapacitated. I don’t know of a legal way to share the contact information with anyone like my husband or a colleague, because that would be a breach of confidentiality. Yet (while I certainly HOPE it doesn’t happen) I know that something could happen to me and my clients might have no way of knowing why I am no longer communicating with them. Any suggestions, Tamara or Camille? Love your thoughts!
Stephanie, you are talking about a document that is commonly referred to as a Professional Will. I definitely need to get a blog post up on this. Thanks for mentioning it. But, here’s the short version . . . . This isn’t a document that you hire an attorney to create. This is a written plan that covers what to do with you clients (and their records) in the event you are incapacitated or die. It is likely that you will want to have another clinician that you trust deal with clients, assume responsibility and care for records, etc. And, that, in turn, means that s/he needs to agree to do so NOW so that you can include that in the Professional Will.
I’ll try to get on this in the next week.
Tamara, I wasn’t aware of the need for a separate document, but I do know that this idea of who will take your practice in your absence needs to be mentioned in informed consent.
Lauren, think about it like this . . . . If you die tonight, who is going to know what to do if you don’t write it down? I don’t know if you have a spouse or life partner or are single but . . . unless they are a licensed mental health provider they can’t legally touch your files or know who your clients are, right? And, even if they did, they would not likely be qualified to (1) break the news to your clients or (2) maintain continuity of care, or (3) even know who to call for any given client to make sure that happens. It needs to be discussed with whomever you are going to turn those records and client care over to and it needs to be in writing.
That makes a lot of sense, but I thought that mentioning it in the informed consent (and specifically naming another clinician) covered the bases. I’m looking forward to seeing this upcoming post.
I’m on it!
Hi Stephanie! Great question and I look forward to seeing an example of that document.
Tamara, I understand and am very much aware of the risk of the dual relationship in my case. On a small island like Malta with only 440.000 inhabitants, dual relationship is quite an issue in all professions. The use of frequent and very good (not to say excellent) supervision guides me and keeps me going within the required boundaries.
Here in the States, Mary Rose, our ethical guidelines are doing away with the language of “dual relationships.” However, I still find the language to be useful in specifying the situation of having multiple relationships with clients / past clients. Now, I believe each of the mental health disciplines is trying to emphasize the imbalance of power on a case by case basis and the overarching responsibility of clinicians to do what is in the best interest of the individual with lesser power – typically the client, the student, the supervisee.
I’ve lived in small communities, geographically challenged areas, and also lived / worked in small subcultures so I can imagine with only 440,000 residents, you are always cognizant of the potential for abuse of power in those situations. Are dual relationships between therapists and supervisees specifically prohibited in Malta?
Legislation of the social professions is still in is infancy in Malta, with only a few of these laws in place. For example the Bill for the counselling profession will hopefully be presented for the second time in parliament in the very near future. I will search for the relevant Laws that are in vigore and post them on my up and coming/ still in construction blog on http://www.maryrosebaldacchino@wordpress.com.
Cool! Feel free to drop back in and let us know when they are up. I’m sure there are others including counselor educators here that would be interested! And, congrats for getting that blog going! I’m getting ready to teach another round of BlogStart for Therapists if you need any support!
This is a great topic! I’ve had to terminate a licensure supervisee. Despite my repeated attempts to help them comply, they were not meeting the requirements that were stipulated in the licensure supervision agreement. I did not want to be held responsible for their actions (or rather lack of actions) and with guidance from the state licensure board, dissolved the relationship. You learn so much from these unfortunate situations.
Oh, my gosh, Pam! YES! I’ve not had to do that as a supervisor but I’ve seriously considered it on one occasion. And, much of Camille’s suggestions really could apply to this situation, too! I hadn’t thought of that. I once took on a supervisee who was so poorly prepared by his graduate program that I felt like I was at huge risk. He turned out to be so aware of his own defecits and had so much integrity – he was great about seeking advice and checking things out – that I decided to risk it and keep supervising him. No regrets in the end but it was definitely a big gamble for me!