The Best Way to Deal with Employee Resignation

Dec 5

A famous saying goes, "all good things must come to an end.” Evidently, this quotation expresses a sad thought. It is an indication that everyone must know how to accept that even the most enjoyable experiences cannot last forever.

This is something that many employers can relate to whenever one of their team members hands in their resignation letter. Employees quitting their posts is a regular occurrence in the workforce, no matter what kind of work environment they are given or what kind of management programs a leader goes through. But this does not mean it will be easy to deal with. It is a challenging issue that every leader must learn to handle professionally.

While leaders are responsible for ensuring team development and fairness in the workplace, you should never take an employee's resignation to heart. Although there are instances where they quit due to bad management practices, it is more often that they leave the company to pursue growth.

Some employees are choosing to leave their companies to explore other career options, while others may decide to take a risk and start their own business. But regardless of their reasons, your role as a leader is to respect their decision and be courteous when discussing the next steps forward.

With all these things considered, here are some tips on how a leader can deal with employee resignation in a much better way:

Ensure that the Resignation is Formal

If an employee opens up about their plans of resigning, your first order of business is to request a formal resignation letter that includes their final date of employment. The employee should write and submit this to protect your business from unemployment claims and other charges for failure to follow specific procedures. The resignation letter should also be added to the employee’s personnel file to show that the termination was initiated by the staff and was not made due to disciplinary action.

Never Judge Their Choice

As a leader, there is nothing wrong with being curious and asking your outgoing employee what their next steps will be. But one thing you should avoid is judging their career choices.

You must remember that if an employee has made up their mind to leave, there is little you can do to reverse their decision. So instead of dwelling and condemning them for their decision, it must be your utmost responsibility to remain calm and sensible.

Lending them an ear to understand their reason is one of the best things you can offer for a resigning employee. This way, you can learn about what went wrong, improve, and adjust accordingly to retain the rest of your employees.

React Normally

Being sad whenever someone is leaving is entirely normal. But never react aggressively. This will only put you and your member in a tight spot, especially since the transition process after resignation usually lasts for around two to four weeks.

There is also nothing wrong if you want to communicate your feelings with your employee. You can tell them how their resignation saddens you and show appreciation for the service they rendered to your company. Never worry about being seen as a weak leader. Your honesty about your feelings for their departure indicates how honest you are as an employer.

Develop a Transition Plan

A good transition plan is one of the most important keys to a successful resignation. You must cooperate with the concerned employee to develop this within a week of an employee tendering their resignation.

Seek their help as their idea of what must be completed might differ from yours. After all, it is them who know their responsibilities. List their weekly tasks, the projects assigned to them, the clients they contact directly, and the like.

Creating a detailed transition plan will help you decide who might be the perfect candidate to take over the responsibilities of the resignee. Ensure that you reach out to the critical people your resigning employee is connected with for a smooth transition.

Find a Way to Communicate a Member’s Resignation with the Team

Once an employee announces their resignation, it is vital to ask them how they would want to break the news of their departure from the company to their colleagues. While some may think it is better to keep their resignation secret, this is not advisable.

Announcing their exit from your organisation is crucial to ensure a proper transition. The rest of your employees should be prepared for the possible additional workload they will be handling to cover the resignation of their colleague in case the company has a hard time finding a replacement.

Besides their workmates, you should also inform their clients if they have any. You must assure them that their account will be transferred to another employee and will be taken care of. In addition, you should also ask the resignee’s clients if they have any questions and clarifications to raise before the employee exits the company.

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Here are a few other articles from Corporate Learning Solutions that discuss and offer help in dealing with other workplace issues that you might face:

Let’s Talk about Burnout and How Leaders can Help?

How to Handle Generational Differences in the Workplace?

What is Quiet Quitting and How can Leaders Help?