By admin, August 30, 2018
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Whether you’re a virtual bookkeeping company or a core accounting firm, only a team of dedicated and hard-working employees can help your company reach new heights and achieve corporate goals. But, it comes as shock for the entrepreneur when a key employee from that winning team decides to leave the company.
Losing a prized team member who played a vital role in business growth is painful and hard to accept. Also, when a valuable employee leaves, his/her experience, skills and overall knowledge also leaves, thus giving a professional set back for the business. So, being the employer, you must take a few steps to make the transition run smoothly. Here are five essential things you need to do when an important employee quits.
Many employers make the mistake of lashing out at the employee after getting the resignation. But, this is not appreciated as it is the employee’s personal decision to leave the company and this response will hamper your relations. The best thing to do is to stay calm and ask for employee’s feedback by scheduling an exit interview as the last chance to save an important resource. Ask questions such as:
• Why are you choosing to leave?
• How can we improve this situation for you?
• Did we provide all possible tools and training to help you professionally?
• Would you like to suggest any changes for company growth?
If the employee was working at a higher level and involved in the key decision-making process, then he/she must have access to some confidential corporate information. His/her exit can cause a security breach and loss of other valuable employees as he/she may attempt to recruit other skilled members of the team. Assess all potential risks the departure poses and how you can take preventive measures to minimize the loss.
Make sure that you’re in compliance with all employment laws related to termination. You must ensure that you have fulfilled all compulsory end-of-employment obligation such as paying all accrued wages, asking the employee to sign all confidentiality agreements and giving all the benefits the employee is entitled to receive at the time of termination.
Announcing a key player’s exit without a proper plan can affect the productivity and morale of the team. Draft a clear plan to determine what you’ll say, who will take over what role and in which direction the team will be moving. Also, make sure that you break the news to the entire team at the same time to avoid gossip.
It is obvious that if an employee is leaving, you need to fill the empty position either by replacing an existing team member or recruiting a new candidate. If you’re planning to change someone’s role internally, then create a succession plan according to the potential of the employees to prevent the same issue in the future. On the other hand, if you want to hire a new candidate, then start the process of talent acquisition to fill the gap as soon as possible.
When running a business, you should be prepared to watch many valuable people leave the company over time. But remember that it is not the end of the world and everyone is replaceable. So, instead of panicking when an important employee leaves, take the above-mentioned crucial steps and figure out the best ways to get the job done.
Being one of the leading payroll outsourcing service providers in Toronto, we come across various businesses who are unable to handle the situation when a key team member quits. That’s why we suggest entrepreneurs keep things positive and handle the situation professionally.
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