Learning to Love Resignation
My clients are often hugely proud of their high retention rates and low turnover. They see it as a badge of honor and take it personally when one of their work 'family' resigns.
I always find it interesting as my clients entrepreneurs who all had successful careers where they honed their skills before they started their own enterprises, and it took a considerable amount of bravery for them to leave a secure job and branch out on their own.
It got me thinking about the way that organisations deal with resignations from effective productive employees and how a resignation from an awesome member of your team can be seen as a positive thing:
Development Opportunities –
Increasingly organisations have flatter structures and so less of a career path for employees, so a resignation means you can provide employees with an opportunity to develop within the organisation, rather than outside of it.
Innovation –
A resignation is an opportunity for you to review that person’s role, amend job descriptions and add additional skills that you may need in a changing marketplace.
Fresh Blood –
New employees come with new ideas and viewpoints, which is always useful in keeping your business fresh and relevant.
Identifying Single Points of Failure –
If an employee’s resignation means a vital task within your organisation will not get done, and no one else has the skills, knowledge or qualifications to carry them out, you have a problem and that needs to be addressed.
New Business Opportunities –
An ex-employee could become or bring you your next significant customer. Remember people buy people, often people use their network when they are looking for services or products.
Alumni Hiring –
Employees do return, sometimes as contractors rather than employees, but you do get someone who knows your business, has great skills and can hit the ground running on a project or piece of work.
If you’d like some support with talent management and succession planning for your organisation, get in touch here.