Dealing With Employee Resignation

An employee resignation always causes some disruption in the workflow, however,

if the employee resigning is valued and you decide to let him or her work their
final two weeks, they can do a lot to make the transition successful. This assum
es that you have assessed that the individual will remain a positive contributor
until their final day.
They can wrap up loose ends, provide details about ongoing projects, and email f
riends and coworkers about their leaving. Make sure you assign employees to pick
up the work of the departing employee. They will have a head start if they can
confer with the person leaving to understand the challenges and details of their
job. Additionally, if the employee resigning has customer contact responsibilit
ies, they can provide an introduction to the person who will be picking up their
responsibilities.
You might ask administrative employees, and others who have jobs with clear and
documentable responsibilities, to create a procedure manual prior to their depar
ture. But, hopefully, you already have these procedures documented and in place.

How to Notify Employees When the Employee Resignation Is Welcome

The scenario changes if the employee resigning is not valued or you don�t trust the
person to carry out their responsibilities successfully during their two week�s noti
ce. In these cases, tell the employee that you will pay him or her for their tim
e, but their services are no longer required. Follow the additional guidelines i
n this employment ending check list. And, ask yourself why you continued to empl
oy this individual under any circumstances to avoid repeating your mistake in th
e future. Firing an employee can be ethical, legal, moral, and appropriate.
To announce the employee�s resignation, send out an immediate email to all employees
stating that the employees has left the company to pursue new opportunities eff
ective on today�s date. You might add that you wish her success in her new opportuni
ties. Communicate also, where any of her responsibilities have been reassigned.
You may want to add some details about how and when you plan to seek a replaceme
nt due to the employee resignation.
Notification to Coworkers and Customers About an Employee Resignation
To notify other employees about an employee�s resignation, start by telling the empl
oyee�s own department about the employee�s resignation. Perhaps call a quick meeting an
inform the other employees that the employee�s last day is in two weeks. Tell them
that you will appreciate their help to pick up any loose ends and inform them to
whom the various responsibilities have been assigned.
Your other employees will also want to know the timeline for replacement of the
departing employee. Generally, good employees are quite willing to perform extra
work or work longer hours to fill in, but they appreciate knowing the time fram
e during which this will be expected..you will hold an Exit interview will bec
ome clear about why the employee is leaving.

The exit interview with a terminating employee is your opportunity to obtain inf
ormation about what your organization is doing well - and, what your organizatio
n needs to do to improve. Used in concert with employee satisfaction surveys, ex
it interviews are a rich source of information for organization improvement.
Exit interviews are key to organization improvement since rarely will you receiv
e such frank feedback from current employees. You’ll find that some items were res
olvable with earlier information but others are not, such as the desire for a la
rge salary increase.
Unfortunately, if you are learning improvement ideas or employee concerns at the
exit interview, it is too late to take action to improve or help the exiting em
ployee. The best time for an employee to discuss concerns, dissatisfactions and
suggestions with his employer is while he is a committed employee, not on his wa
y out the door. Make sure your organization provides multiple opportunities to g
ather and learn from employee feedback, including surveys, department meetings,
comment or suggestion forms, and more.
You are interested, during the exit interview, in the feedback of employees who
voluntarily terminate their employment with your organization. However, don’t miss
the opportunity to ask for feedback from employees you fire for attendance or p
erformance. You may obtain useful information during the termination meeting wit
h employees you fire.
In a recent termination meeting, the fired employee told me the job had burned h
im out because it was boring. I was able to offer some encouragement about compl
eting school in lieu of another boring light industrial position.
Exit interviews are commonly performed in person with the departing employee. So
metimes, the manager conducts the exit interview, but most often, a Human Resour
ces staff person holds the exit interview. Some organizations use written or onl
ine questionnaires to conduct exit interviews. I am a proponent of talking with
the departing employee to more completely explore and understand his or her view
s during the exit interview.
The exit interview questions you ask are key to obtaining actionable information
. Start your exit interview with light discussion to help your departing employe
e feel comfortable answering your questions. Assure the employee that no negativ
e consequences will result from honest discussion during the exit interview.
Explain that you will use the information provided during the exit interview, in
aggregate format, to help your organization improve and retain valued employees
. Freely explore each response further for clarification and complete understand
ing.
Here are sample exit interview questions
. Feel free to copy and use any combination of these exit interview questions in
your organization.
• Why have you decided to leave the company?
• Have you shared your concerns with anyone in the company prior to deciding to le
ave?
• Was a single event responsible for your decision to leave?
• What does your new company offer that encouraged you to accept their offer and l
eave this company?
• What do you value about the company?
• What did you dislike about the company?
• The quality of supervision is important to most people at work. How was your rel
ationship with your manager?
• What could your supervisor do to improve his or her management style and skill?
• What are your views about management and leadership, in general, in the company?
• What did you like most about your job?
• What did you dislike about your job? What would you change about your job?
• Do you feel you had the resources and support necessary to accomplish your job?
If not, what was missing?
• We try to be an employee-oriented company in which employees experience positive
morale and motivation. What is your experience of employee morale and motivatio
n in the company?
• Were your job responsibilities characterized correctly during the interview proc
ess and orientation?
• Did you have clear goals and know what was expected of you in your job?
• Did you receive adequate feedback about your performance day-to-day and in the p
erformance development planning process?
• Did you clearly understand and feel a part of the accomplishment of the company
mission and goals?
• Describe your experience of the company’s commitment to quality and customer servi
ce.
• Did the management of the company care about and help you accomplish your person
al and professional development and career goals?
• What would you recommend to help us create a better workplace?
• Do the policies and procedures of the company help to create a well-managed, con
sistent, and fair workplace in which expectations are clearly defined?
• Describe the qualities and characteristics of the person who is most likely to s
ucceed in this company.
• What are the key qualities and skills we should seek in your replacement?
• Do you have any recommendations regarding our compensation, benefits and other r
eward and recognition efforts?
• What would make you consider working for this company again in the future? Would
you recommend the company as a good place to work to your friends and family?
• Can you offer any other comments that will enable us to understand why you are l
eaving, how we can improve, and what we can do to become a better company?
End the meeting on a positive note. Commit to using the information provided to
improve your workplace. Wish your employee success in their new endeavor. End th
e exit interview graciously.