We recently about why supporting staff is important to your culture and organisation. We wanted to share practical tips to support staff departing.
1. Recognise staff turnover is a natural part of any organisation – there will always be people who come and go. There are different stages in an organisation and also seasons of people’s lives. It is rare that a staff member is with you for life. If you have a team member with you for 1-2+ years this is positive and should be celebrated.
2. Communicate to the Team: Inform the departing employee’s colleagues about their departure as soon as possible and provide an opportunity for them to say goodbye. Work with the departing staff member to communicate this. Acknowledge the departing employee’s contributions, achievements, and express gratitude for their service.
3. Handover: Encourage your departing staff member to complete a handover document outlining the departing employee’s responsibilities, roles, and key contacts. This supports new team members to get quickly up to speed.
4. Conduct Exit Interviews: Conduct exit interviews with departing employees to gather valuable insights into why employees are leaving and what can be done to better retention rates.
5. Be able to reflect and receive feedback: there is always something to be learned which does require humility. Many organisations show minimal reflection and the ability to receive feedback. We can probably all list a few off the top of our heads right now. It doesn’t seem to matter how many people flag, there is an inability to reflect and receive feedback which impacts an organisation, their workplace culture.
If you want staff also to reflect and receive feedback, business leaders need to be able to model and lead in this area.
