When an employee announces he or she is leaving, it can go several ways. It may be a devastating loss to the organization, or leadership might just breathe a sigh of relief. Either way, your offboarding process should look the same in any scenario.
There is no shortage of articles, tips, and tactics for onboarding an employee, but it is not as easy to find best practices when a person leaves a job. How can an organization make offboarding a positive experience?
The Exit Interview
Successful exit interviews can make for a stellar offboarding experience for both the employer and employee. They allow managers to ask questions to see why people are getting drawn to new jobs. It’s a perfect way to gauge what is going on in your market. If you hear a common theme centered around unlimited PTO as the reason people are making the jump, you may want to look at what your organization is offering.
It is also an opportunity for the employee to learn the details around the exit, like timelines, clarification around benefits, last paycheck, and vacation payouts.
A note on exit interviews: Exit interviews work best if there is a culture of trust, transparency, and respect already in place. Employees are less likely to share their struggles and expect to be heard if there is a lack of trust on either side of the conversation.
Survey Those Leaving
Exit surveys are not always fun to read. It can be unpleasant to hear about the things that may need to be improved upon. It’s important to read, reflect, then make the necessary adjustments, especially if some reasons are shared by several people.
There are benefits to both employees and employers from a well-done survey. Employees are provided an opportunity to share things they may not have felt comfortable sharing while employed. The employer is also provided with critical information on how employees view the workplace. When employers act on items that are common reasons for leaving, those who have chosen to stay will sense that the employer is invested in them.
Managers need to actually act upon what they are learning because it could be a serious differentiator for employees to see management acknowledging and accommodating pain points as needed.
Communication Is Critical
When an employee quits and a manager takes it personally, team communication sometimes all but ends. This is bad for all parties involved. The transition time should be used to talk about which projects are being worked on, which are the hot items, which are the priorities, and which are time sensitive. This information can be communicated to the team and can help ensure everyone remains engaged and knows the plan going forward.
Companies should consider celebrating the time a person has spent at the organization. Offboarding sends your employee out on a positive note, and other employees will notice and feel that the company respects and values them.
Something important to remember—employees are more connected in the market now than ever. If your employees leave in a healthy, considerate way, they will let their colleagues know about it. The same goes if it turns out poorly. The bottom line, offboarding can help or harm the reputation of any organization. For assistance with your offboarding needs, please contact one of MRA’s professionals at 800.488.4845 or by completing this online form.
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