5 Things To Do When An Employee Resigns

5 Things To Do When An Employee Resigns Whatever your industry or business, it goes without saying that you probably work hard to create a great, nurturing environment for your employees and you do your best to try and keep everyone happy. That said; it can come as a bit of a blow when an employee decides they want to move on,  particularly if you have a small team and  you werent really aware that your employee was unhappy and considering  other employers. OK, so 99% of your employees arent going to be with your business for the entire duration of their career so it was inevitable that an employee was going to have to quit at some point, but even so, it can still hit you hard when one of your best employees decides to quit, especially if theyre a keen member of your team and you cant really begin to imagine how your business would function without them. When an employee hands their notice in, if youve never had to deal with an employee resigning before, it can be hard to know where to start but it goes without saying that there are a number of things you should and shouldnt do. 1. Dont Panic/Take It Personally When an employee hands their notice in, it can be very easy to panic and start questioning everything about your management style and business. Dont at least not yet anyway! Your employee might have quit for personal reasons so try and keep calm until you know the whole story. Similarly, if you run a small business, it can be easy to take an employees resignation as a personal attack but again, you need to keep calm and keep your emotions in check which leads me nicely onto my next point 2. Do Have An Open Honest Conversation After an employee hands their notice in, it can be very tempting to just accept their notice and shut the door but its always worth having an open and honest conversation with them about their reasons for quitting. Be sure to have this conversation in a private environment, away from prying eyes and ears! Ask your employee why they want to leave, where theyre going and if they have any issues with your company/working environment you never know, they might have found their dream job over on the other side of the world! 3. Dont Make A Hasty Counter-Offer If you really value your employee and see them as a key member of the team, when they resign, the first thing youll probably want to do is try and get them to change their mind After youve had an honest chat with your employee, think carefully about what type of counter-offer you could make which might convince them to stay or even if you want to make a counter-offer at all. Counter-offers rarely get accepted and even when they do, 9 times out of 10, the employee ends up leaving within six months anyway because the issues which made them want to leave still havent been resolved. 4. Do Follow Procedures When an employee hands their notice in, its really important to consult with your HR department and follow procedures to ensure your handle their resignation in the correct way. Be sure to get a copy of their resignation in writing for your records and consult their contract to find their notice period. Also, be sure to schedule in an exit interview just before the employee is due to leave because, again, you might find out some key information which could help your business going forward. 5. Do Think Carefully About Their Replacement OK, so you probably wont want your employee to leave but on the positive side, youve now got the chance to review the job role going forwards. Consider if the role is fine as it is or if youd like to change the focus slightly to cover different things and tasks. Similarly, consider if theres anyone in your existing business who might be a good fit for the role who you could promote or if you need to bring new talent in.