It once was the aim of many people to work for 30 to 40 years with the same company, and then to retire with a pension and a gold watch. Pensions are mostly a thing of the past, and for many young people, watches are as well. Retiring from one’s first employer will be rarer still. Talented people in the technology field are more likely than most to hop from job to job with greater frequency than many others. In fact, this analysis of how Yahoo YHOO -0.87%! has made a practice of acquiring less than stellar performing companies with grade-A talent in order to secure them en-masse and lock them in for multiple years underscores the point.
Try to Avoid This
Unfortunately, as the millenials hop from job to job, it appears not enough time and attention is put toward ensuring that the bridge that has been built with an employer remains strong even after one’s departure. Carelessly burning bridges or even simply ending one’s tenure with a company on a sour note needlessly can have negative ramifications. When one needs a recommendation for yet another job or for a graduate program down the line, these slights will be remembered. In order to make a great last impression, it is important to follow these seven steps.
Create a plan to hand-off all outstanding work and responsibilities before tendering a resignation
Nothing is more frustrating for an employer than to have many loose ends to tie, without ample time to tie them prior to a colleague’s departure. Even before announcing the intent to leave, an employee should prepare a plan on who can logically take over his or her responsibilities. Having an actionable plan that can be implemented immediately after announcing the intent to depart will go a long way toward easing the minds of one’s soon to be ex-employer.
Meet with each of the people who you have proposed to take over responsibilities, and agree to spend time with each to ensure that each activity is in good hands post departure, and to give each person ample time to ask questions wherever necessary.
Meet with all key people with whom you have worked closely in person or by phone about your departure
It is difficult to express sincerity to one’s colleagues through email. Nothing replaces a live conversation. For that reason, one should always attempt to meet with key colleagues to explain a decision in person if possible, and by phone at a minimum. The simple give and take that this will allow for will help ensure that questions are answered, that one’s intent is clear, and it also provides another opportunity to express the desire for the transition to be a success for all parties.
In the final days, prove that you care as much about your soon to be ex-employer as you do about yourself
Many people treat the last days of one’s time with a firm like it is the week after final exams, but this is not a time for coasting. It is important to work especially hard in the last days with an employer to prove that you care about the firm even while departing. It is a sign of respect for the time spent with the company, and proof that one is thinking as much about the firm as one is thinking about one’s self. The fact that this is not always the norm will help the departing employee stand out.
Provide ample time for the transition
Two weeks really is the minimum after giving notice of departure. Optimally, more time will be provided. In the rare cases where one must start a new job prior to two weeks, work extra time in the evening or even over a weekend if necessary to make up for the shorter time horizon and to ensure that all loose ends are tied. If a ball drops because of a lack of initiative on the part of the departing employee, it does not reflect well on him or her.
Provide open, honest, and candid feedback to your old employer and ask for the same in return
Every employee departure is an opportunity for employer to learn more about how to improve. Hopefully one would be asked to provide this feedback, but even if one is not, it is useful to recap what went well, what one learned, and what one can suggest in improving the experience for peers in the future. If there is a specific reason for the departure (geographic or industry change, pay differential, promotion, etc.), it should be provided in a respectful but clear way to one’s old employer. This feedback ought to be provided to one’s immediate boss, but also may be provided to an HR lead.
One should also press to receive open, honest, and candid feedback. Not learning from those who know you best both in terms of what has made you a solid colleague but also those attributes that are in need of improvement means that one will proceed to the next opportunity with built in blind spots. Removing the blind spots will create a quicker path to success in with the new opportunity.
Make yourself accessible (within reason) for questions after departure
No one can reasonably expect that an employee once he or she has departed will be on call to a former employer, but the departing employee should make clear that if there are quick questions that the he or she can address, that there is a willingness to take the call. This needs to be within reason since a new employer will not be thrilled about having a new employee spending time doing anything of true substance for an old employer, but a few minutes taken by phone to help former colleagues will be greatly appreciated and remembered.
Make plans to see old bosses a couple of months post departure, and keep in touch with all past mentors
This may seem counter-intuitive, but just as firms like McKinsey manage their alumni network, recognizing that each departing employee is a potential client, likewise employees ought to think just as strategically about each past employer. There is no reason why former formal mentors cannot remain as informal mentors as one’s career progresses. Likewise, a past employer may leave a firm and identify future opportunities for a past colleague, or may provide a needed recommendation. Letting these contacts go dormant is a sin.
The distance of a couple of months also provides the opportunity for well-rounded constructive feedback about one’s tenure both from the employee and from the employer’s perspective.
Let me state the obvious, which is to say that these suggestions are tailored for situations where the departure is amicable and not forced. Unfortunately, it is often the departing party who makes the situation less than amicable, however, and the world is much too small to burn bridges. You never know when the recommendation from an old employer will be essential.
via Making A Great Last Impression: Seven Steps To A Positive Job Departure – Forbes.
Seven Steps To A Positive Job Departure
