A WISE man (my father) once gave me some advice when I was much younger and in the middle of doing work placements – always try to leave a job in such a way that you can go back to it.
In other words; don’t burn your bridges. It’s a principal I have personally held onto and have also seen the benefits of it action for various past and present colleagues who have left jobs to try something new and come back again to be even more successful second time around. The problem is that this is often a one way street, the maxim only being applied by employees rather than employers.
So why don’t employers think like this? I’m surprised at how little effort is sometimes made by organisations to maintain a good relationship with their ex (or soon to be ex) staff. Not that anything actively negative is done; it’s more a case of ‘see ya later - what was your name again?’
Now as we all know there is no ‘six degrees of separation’ rule (ie that you are only six introductions or handshakes away from anyone else in the world) among businesses in our local business world: it’s more like one or two; so the effect of negative publicity is much more pronounced than it would be in larger economies.
Consider that future staff who you are seeking to attract or current employees who you wish to retain will all be well aware of (or are easily able to find out) your reputation and how you treat people. So isn’t it better to be regarded as one of the good guys? Practically too isn’t it always better to have people gong that extra mile for you and finishing work off to a high standard rather than being disengaged, demotivated and simply going through the motions?
The question is therefore, what should businesses do when their employees leave? First off it depends how, or more accurately why, people are leaving. If they are being dismissed for disciplinary reasons then treat them fairly and resist the urge to bad mouth them. They may have been the worst employee ever and you may never want them back but to denigrate them and run them down says more about you then it does about them.
If the employee is leaving for a different job; talk to them and find out what their motivation is. It may not be possible to make them stay (and in some cases you may not want them to stay at that particular point in time) but at least you will gain some insight into your own business, and maybe even your competitors. It’s entirely possible that the naïve and limited person who leaves your employ will be able to gain invaluable practical experience and skills elsewhere that they can eventually bring back to your organisation in a few years.
Exit interviews are vital in this regard. They can’t be perfunctory or a box ticking exercise and should also be viewed in a wider context, using good metric analysis. Consider if there is perhaps a common theme evident of people leaving due to a lack of opportunities or because your pay rates are not competitive, or is there a problem with particular managers forcing them out? Once you begin to analyse why people leave you will be able to piece together a much wider ‘big data’ tapestry and understand how effective your overall life cycle processes are (recruitment, retention, engagement, development etc). This is information you need to know to both move your business forward and to protect it.
If, in the unfortunate event that staff are being made redundant, then consider delivering an outplacement service. Depending on the resources available you could think about ways to assist them in negotiating the job market and helping them find new employment . Think about offering assistance with CV writing and helping them showcase their skills and experience. Perhaps assist with the interpretation of job adverts and the completion of application forms. Some staff may find it difficult to translate what they do into bite size highlights or may not be able to use the correct industry jargon that will get them a foot in the door. There is a technical skill to this that is difficult to pick up if you are not used to it. Maybe you could provide some mock interview practice with appropriate feedback or some training on communication and confidence building that will help them perform if they do advance to the next stage?
The bottom line is that many staff who move on can be really useful to have back at some point. So I guess the message is that we need to actively manage the process of our staff leaving and the better we do that the more it enhances our reputation (internally and externally), protects our business and provides insights that we wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise. There is also no shame in taking pride when an employee goes on to better things. Sometimes we just can’t offer them the opportunity to move upwards or develop at that particular point in time but we would certainly like them to come back if and when the opportunity arises. Think more along the lines of ‘until we meet again’ rather than permanent goodbyes.
:: Barry Shannon (barry.shannon@capita.co.uk) is head of HR business development at Capita HR Solutions in Belfast (www.capitahrsolutions.co.uk).
