Employees are not immune to the changing cycles of business restructures, or transformations. Most of us have become very accustomed to shifts in business, which can lead to new career opportunities, career transitions, natural attrition and redundancies. Turnover is a natural part of business, but too costly to overlook. Investing in the future success of your outbound employees is good for business and reputational fall out can be minimised.
Employee departures are never easy, and when a well-liked member of your team resigns, this can attract a myriad of emotions. These can range from fear about how the rest of the team will react, to frustration at having to recruit the role, and the lingering feeling of being rejected and anger. How you handle the resignation will influence whether the person’s departure becomes a bump in the road or and inflection point to a downward trend for the team or organisation.
There are many reasons why people choose to leave an organisation, or why an organisation must shed its employees. There is likely to be a level of discomfort, pain, or gain and, how the organisation says good-bye, is an art to be perfected. The world is far more interconnected than ever, and so leaders caring about how former employees feel as they exit is a critical leadership competency to master, even if disappointed to lose the employee. In today’s highly competitive market, the war for talent is costing many organisations and employees are establishing their own benchmarks on what they wish to get from their organisation but also on the brand reputation of the organisation that they may be looking to get employed by.
A negative exit experience can damage your employer brand, ability to hire future talent, impact team morale and even reputation with customers. Gallup’s analytics prove the point; Employees who have a positive exit experience are 2.9 times more likely to recommend their organisation to others than those who have negative or neutral experiences. With heightened competition to hire the best people and a focus that needs to be given to employee engagement, the exit experience can make all the difference, influence every other aspect of your business, develop former employees into brand ambassadors and boost organisation reputation.
Exits can be surprising and emotional. A dignified process can make employees feel better about their tenure and make the most of the situation. So what does a dignified and positive exit look like for those exiting?
- Voluntary exits should be treated differently than involuntary exits due to potential legal ramifications, and safety concerns associated with a forced termination. Importantly, exit experiences express organisational culture. The treatment received by the employee, influences all bystanders that remain at the organisation. Making the parting employee, feel ok about their situation and supported, is better for them, and better for the team left behind. When an employee decides to leave, their exit experience should leave them feeling heard and proud of their contributions and impact and not feeling guilty for taking steps to make a career change or change jobs and make their next transition faster.
- Don’t overlook the lasting impression that the experience of redundancy and job loss has on the individual and emotions during the separation process associated with grief and loss. Other employees may see that there may not be as much stability in the organisation as they believed. Outplacement services and termination with dignity can make a difficult transition easier and less stressful and help individuals take a step forward in the next chapter of their careers. Quality outplacement can support your brand and demonstrate that the organisation isn’t removing the individual as a person, rather seeing that the role that person performed in the organisation no longer fits with the ongoing needs of the business.
- Redundancy is an intensely stressful event and having to deliver the news of redundancy is one of the most difficult challenges facing any manager, especially when you find yourself having to lay off loyal, highly capable employees. You may try to bottle up your emotions to the point where you can appear somewhat cold and callous. Or you may try and distance yourself from the decision to make the redundancy. None of this is helpful. The best approach is to deliver the message briefly, simply and give the employee clear and precise reasons why their role is being made redundant. The employee should know that there is nothing that they did that led to this outcome. Respond to any reactions to that message with care and compassion.
- When someone resigns, employers are often caught off guard. A good exit should begin long before the day the employee packs their bags. When managers hear clues of a possible departure and want to retain that person, they need to make genuine efforts to improve their situation including regular career conversations with employees about their job, where they are headed and what they need to do their job better.
- Employees want to see a bright future for their career and know their manager believes in them. Even if the employee ultimately decides to leave, it is better that they leave feeling that there was nothing more their manager could have done to prevent them leaving and they felt heard. They also want to feel like they made a viable contribution and be proud of their work. Before they leave, leaders can help the employee write a story about their past and which makes them feel good about themselves and you. If the exit is due to a layoff, it becomes even more important as it’s hard to get your head into job search, if you are not feeling good about yourself and your contribution.
- Former employees ideally should be a part of their previous organisation’s alumni network. By developing post-employment relationships, employers value their reputation beyond employment. Former employees become brand ambassadors and willingly publicise positive sentiment on social media or employer review sites. If an employee has left on good terms, purposeful check-ins will alert them to new employment or referral opportunities reinforcing your employer brand, win back lost talent or generate quality referrals.
Whatever the reason for the breakup, be respectful and graceful. Don’t downplay a person’s departure as losing a well-liked colleague will create concern and grief and invalidating that grief removes an important part of the process. Letting the person slip out the door unheralded suggests a lack of care, so be upfront and celebrate their contribution and how you value your people.
Laugh about shared experiences because as you do, you will not only make the person who is leaving feel good, you will strengthen the bond among the people who remain. After the party, seek the individuals candour about what you need to learn from their departure as part of the legacy they can leave in making you and the team better in the future. Breaking up is never easy!!
Reference source:
Workplace Management Gallup 2019 – 3 ways to create a positive exit experience, Ben Wigert’s 2019;
Harvard Business Review 2018 – How to Manage Morale, Liane Davey
Linked In 2015 – Why your brand needs outplacement
Diane Kane, Director of Careers
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