Find the Calm When They Leave

resignation

Find the Calm When They Leave

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resignation

We have all had it happen. We have that great employee, the one who does a great job, communicates, and the everyone enjoys working with. Then one day they come into your office for a “chat”. What you thought would be a quick discussion on the latest project or what happened in the sporting world over the weeknd. Turns into them giving you their two weeks notice – they are leaving.

You are sitting there silently stunned and shocked, what you really want to say is “What? How could you do this to me?” No matter how hurt, frustrated or panicked you are – be civil.

What if you can’t stay calm? Tell them “thank you and can I talk to you later about this?”  In this world of six degrees of seperation, you never know who they will talk to or meet – you want them to always speak positively of you and your company. Go take your walk, close your door or find another way to get calm. We all have our own tricks to do it.

Once you find the calm and ask questions like

  • Tell me about the new opportunity/job.
  • How did you learn about it?
  • Were you recruited?
  • Is there anything we could do/have done to keep you here?

Unless it is a sensative position let them work out their notice. If it’s needed, ask them to write out what they do for the next person (think process, procedures, summary of client projects, etc) to ensure a smooth handover to either another employee or a new employee.

If you really want to surprise them, take them out for a coffee or lunch to discuss. You can learn a lot in a discuss about what works and what doesn’t, what others are thinking, etc.

Instead of feeling as if they are abandoning you, take advantage to learn and grow as a leader.