Nobody likes having to fire people. It can be an ugly business. Sometimes it must happen, however. And when it does, it’s important for your business to have a policy in place for how you handle the termination when it comes to leaving the premises.

That is, do you notify an employee that he is being let go, and then allow him to return to his desk?

If so, is he allowed to be there unsupervised? For how long?

The point here isn’t to bog down in the minutiae, but to consider what such a “former employee” might do when he was a “current employee” only moments earlier. If he’s logged into his computer, and into your servers or applications, perhaps he will inflict a tremendous amount of damage before leaving.

Most people aren’t that bold, or lack the “guts” to do it. Or, perhaps, they aren’t that vengeful.

But some are.

Furthermore, many employees who have been let go see no reason whatsoever not to take data with them, quite subtly. They may not trash your system on the way out, but they will gladly steal it.

In fact, The Ponemon Institute’s 2009 report “Jobs at Risk = Data at Risk” found that 61% of respondents who felt negatively about their employers took data while only 26% of those with a favorable view did. But of the 945 individuals surveyed, who were laid off, fired or quite their jobs in the past 12 months, 59% admitted to stealing company data and 67% used their former company’s confidential information to leverage a new job.

Company policies certainly vary, and depending upon the employee’s role and level of access, it can be quite difficult to sever ties. But be careful not to assume that the employee won’t take you for a ride on his way out.

It’s a good idea to supervise the employee as he cleans out his desk, then walk him to the parking lot. And if you have remote access into your company via the network, that must be handled before the employee even reaches the parking lot (such as while he’s cleaning out his desk or even while he’s in the meeting being let go).

It’s an ugly business, but must be handled prudently lest it turn worse for both the employer and the former employee later.