It may sound counter intuitive but staff who leave your company can often be your biggest supporters and advocates. When an employee decides to leave there can be a myriad of reasons behind that decision and often there can be a gap of time between them coming to the decision that they want to find pastures new, and actually securing a new job and becoming a leaver.
Some employees will be reluctant to tell their employer that they would like to move on if they haven’t already found a new role for fear that they will be ostracised and treated poorly but in companies where there is a positive and supportive culture that conversation can actually be really powerful. An employee might want to leave because they have aspirations around a different career path or that they feel that they have gone as far as they can in the business and need to move on to develop themselves and take the next step.
By creating a culture that values open, honest dialogue you are saying to staff, if you want to move on then come and tell us, it might be that we can look at opportunities to help you to stay with us and if we can’t then we can support you to develop and put you in the best possible position to get you to where you want to be.
How you treat employees in these circumstances is really important and can define your business to some extent. By offering support to someone who wants to leave, you are demonstrating that you value that person and are invested in their personal and professional growth and wellbeing. At the point they are ready to leave and move on they will go with your best wishes and they are then far more likely to say how wonderful you were as an employer, to leave you a glowing review on Glassdoor, to tell their friends and family and maybe even one day to come back and work for you again. If you treat them badly you give them, and by extension other staff, the impression that they are just a number, that they are dispensable and if you treat them really badly you could end up with a grievance on your hands, a damning online review and a tarnished reputation.
Ultimately, employers have a choice in whether their leavers are good leavers or bad leavers, those who aim to create good leavers will often reap the rewards in added engagement from existing staff and an enhanced reputation as a good employer, those who create bad leavers may well reap what they sow.
Do you have questions about leavers?
Give us a call at CUBE HR on 01282 678321, we’ll be happy to advise you and we have policies and templates available to meet every HR need.
Why not check out our blog on a similar topic Do you make your exit interviews count?
We also have a YouTube channel with loads of handy videos.
