Handling Goodbyes
Hold on to your pants, your key staff has just tendered his
resignation -- your worst nightmare as a manager! Once the
dust settles and the panic subsides, you begin to ask
yourself, what next?
Staff retention is a major problem in the current job
market in Singapore. Our economy is doing well; our job
market is red hot. As a result, new job offers are becoming
increasingly more irresistible. At some stage, someone you
work closely with -- be it your staff, your boss or a
fellow team member -- is going to hand in that dreaded
letter to HR. Handling resignations with tact and grace is
no longer merely a desirable quality, but an essential
corporate skill today.
We do have some general strategies to deal with
resignations. The first step is to assess the motivation
behind the career choice. Is it money? If so, a counter
offer is usually successful. Counter offers (both making
them and taking them) are considered ineffective and in
poor taste. At least, executive search firms insist that
they are. But then, they would say that, wouldn't they?
If the motivation behind the resignation is the nature of
the current or future job and its challenges, a lateral
movement or reassignment (possibly combined with a counter
offer) can be effective. If everything fails, then it is
time to say goodbye -- amicably.
It is vitally important to maintain this amicability -- a
fact often lost on bosses and HR departments.
Understandably so because, by the time the counter offer
negotiations fail, there is enough rancor on both sides to
sour the relationship. Brush those wounded feelings aside
and smile through your pain, for your paths may cross
again. You may rehire the same person. Or, you may end up
working with him/her on the other side. Salvage whatever
little you can for the sake of positive networking.
The level of amicability depends on corporate culture. Some
organizations are so cordial with deserting employees that
they almost encourage desertion. Others treat the traitors
as the army used to -- with the help of a firing squad.
Both these extremes come with their associated perils. If
you are too cordial, your employees may treat your
organization as a stepping stone, concentrating on
acquiring only transferable skills. On the other extreme,
if you develop a reputation for severe exit barriers in an
attempt to discourage potential traitors, you may also find
it hard to recruit top talent.
The right approach lies somewhere in between, like most
good things in life. It is a cultural choice that an
organization has to make. But regardless of where the
balance is found, resignation is here to stay, and people
will change jobs. Change, as the much overused
cliché puts it, is the only constant.
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