Resignations have been big in the news this week. With the scandal at Penn State University and Eddie Murphy withdrawing as host of The Academy Awards I have resignation on the brain and it got me thinking about resignation best practices from an HR perspective.
Resignations can go sour fast—employees can be asked to vacate the premises immediately, the resigned can check out for the last two weeks on the job, transitions might not happen in a timely and orderly fashion OR they can go smoothly, with the resigned staying on board to recruit and train their replacement, tie up loose ends, work hard until their last day on the job, etc… But to be honest—after a resignation is tendered—a combination of both the good and the bad probably follows suit.
So for those of us who are left behind and for those of us that resignations are tendered to, here are a few tips to follow to ensure the resignation goes smoothly for both parties.
- Be happy for the person moving on. Wish them the best in their next phase and secure their contact information to stay in touch—either as a networking contact or simply as a friend.
- Don’t burn any bridges. Allow your former colleague to leave on good terms, if you were in their shoes you wouldn’t want to leave on bad terms. Besides, you never know who you may cross paths with again in the future.
- Don’t kick the recently resigned to the curb. Taking a resignation personally is never a smart move. When a resignation is tendered, don’t overreact and ask the employee to leave immediately. You’re only hurting yourself and the staff left behind that has to pick up the slack and make assumptions about unfinished projects—all while feeling like they did something wrong to be treated that way.
- Respect the remaining staff and inform them in a timely manner. Telling those who are staying on staff that a resignation was given in a timely manner is crucial. If the staff finds out that a team member is leaving and that team member gave notice six days prior—that makes the team feel wronged. While relaying this kind of information may not be easy, it’s best to do it sooner rather than later. If you wait too long you might have other resignations heading your way.
