When YOU Leave

It's hard to say "goodbye" isn't it? Last week's post was about handling the departure of a teammate. This week, let's talk about you.

At some point in your career, and maybe several times, you'll be saying "goodbye" to a job and teammates. How you leave is important. The following principles apply whether you liked your job, or hated it, or somewhere in between.

Give a good notice. I know, I know. Some people feel that because a company can kick you out at any time with little to no notice, you shouldn't have to give them a notice when you want to leave. Sorry folks, that's not professional. Do that, and  you are ultimately hurting yourself. You can't control the company, but you can take responsibility on your end. Give at least a full two-week notice, sometimes more in certain circumstances. If you are asked to leave before fulfilling it, leave graciously.

Tell teammates. If appropriate, talk to teammates and give them whatever is reasonable information about why you are leaving. This helps dispel rumors. Maintain confidentiality when you need to, but don't be afraid to explain a few things—in a positive way—if it will help.

 

Don't burn bridges. As tempted as you may feel (depending on the circumstances) to badmouth a manager or the company, DON'T DO IT. Bitterness only reflects poorly on you, and may leave a bad taste to your former coworkers. A poor attitude can come back to haunt you when you are searching for new positions. Make people miss you!

Create a good reference. Behave in such a way that the company can't help but give you a good reference. (If you are being fired, this may be rather hard, but if you handle even that professionally, it can reflect well on you later.)

Think of your replacement. Do whatever you can to make the transition easy. Organize files. Save electronic files in one simple to find place that he/she can sort through to find something later. Don't leave emails unanswered. If possible, spend some time training him/her yourself.

Communicate. A few days before your departure, set up an "out of office" message on your email, educating people that you are leaving, and who will handle messages in your place. This will give you a few days to still be around if there's a question YOU have to answer, while helping people learn to direct their inquiries elsewhere.

Thank your co-workers. Take some time to write a summary email of appreciation, naming specific things you enjoyed about working with particular departments or people. Try not to miss anyone. Find something about each department you can praise. Set up this "all employee" email to go out just before you leave. If you wish, and the company is okay with it, provide your contact info going further.

Make a clean break. Ideally, take a break between jobs. Be available for calls and emails, but let the former staff members initiate. Be careful about making too much contact with them during the first month off staff (as if you are still employed.) It will be easier for them and for you.

Maintain connections. This may seem contradictory to the tip above, but if you give some space and time between the tips, it can work well. Set up lunch visits or stop in occasionally. Connect on social media if you are comfortable with that. Don't ask too many questions about how things are going at the workplace, and don't entertain gossip. Instead focus on friendships. You may find that these folks truly are friends, or that they were just pleasant co-workers. Either one is okay as long as you know the difference.

For the most part, I tried to follow the above principles during a recent job transition. One of my coworkers responded to my “goodbye” email with “This impresses me as one of the most delightful DEPARTURES  I’ve ever seen.” 

May yours be the same.

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When Someone Leaves

The day I wrote this was my last day on a church staff. I'd been working part-time for a large church for over five years, and full-time at my own church for ten years before that. I worked for non-profit organizations prior to that, and with only one exception (and my own business) I've been in the non-profit sector for all of my career.

I'll be continuing my own business, and later this summer will be joining a firm part-time for a position related to, but different from what I have been doing. It's exciting but odd to step into a somewhat-new industry.

I've been blessed with good teams at both churches I've worked for. I didn't experience the "but if you really knew him/her behind the scenes" stuff some church staff members experience. I was able to leave with grace in both situations, although both departures were prompted by reorganization, not my own desire to leave and move on. God has worked in my life through both the time spent on these staffs, and the way the departure was handled.

As much as teambuilding helps you build a "family" feel in your workplace, someone is going to leave sometime and the team will change. Here are a few tips for handling it well with your team.

Communicate, yet protect: depending on the circumstances around the departure, keep in mind the feelings of the person leaving. Communicate to staff based first on appropriateness and whether the person will feel awkward with everyone knowing why they are leaving. If you can't, or shouldn't share all details, try to communicate in a way that leaves little tolerance for rumor mongering. 

Celebrate: find a way to celebrate the person, either publicly or privately. Have a cake (see the photo of mine above) and allow staff members to share compliments. Or if the person hates being the center of attention, circulate a card to give them before they go. A card may be a better option if the departure was less than pleasant, because it still acknowledges his/her contribution.

Cut the cord: as hard as it is (and I didn't like it either) there comes a time when the employee and the organization have to make a clean break. Establish a time for an exit interview when the employee can voice final thoughts, turn in keys, parking passes, etc. Don't treat him/her like a criminal but be professional. As quickly as possible, turn off their email account so lingering emails aren't left unhandled. Have an "out of office" message to redirect clients to the proper staff person.

Continue the relationship: this may be contradictory to what I just wrote, but keep the relationship going in a modified way if it is appropriate to do so. In my case, I still attend one of the churches I used to work for and maintain friendly relationships with former co-workers from both churches. I wouldn't hesitate to get involved in activities at either church. If there are opportunities for the person to volunteer, consider allowing him/her to do so. Encourage people to stay in touch by email or Facebook should the former employee enjoy that and the leaving was under good terms.

Consult with remaining employees: make sure to figure out who will be doing what in the absence of the former employee (particularly if you don't have immediate plans to replace them.) Allow for ideas and don't just dump on others without consulting them first. As much as possible, try to handle things that come up without calling the former employee very much. (This depends in part on how well the employee transitioned work, communications, etc. to others, but if you can figure things out on your own, do so.)

Whenever an employee leaves, part of the team is affected for at least a little while. Consider those affects and do what you can to make the transition as smooth as possible for the leaving employee and those that remain behind. Change isn't easy, but it's a fact of life, particularly in the business world. A little effort can go a long way toward helping it be as smooth as possible.

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Peanut Butter and Honey

As I write this, I am sitting in my favorite writing spot, a coffee shop on the banks of the river in my city. Today I decided to have a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana. There is leftover peanut butter, so I decided to add a little honey to it, stir it together, and finish it up just as it is.  Yum!

You can't see the honey in the container. But you can taste it. It's that little bit of extra sweetness that brings the peanut butter to "treat" level.

That "honey" is the same thing you will find in a workplace culture that has the undeniable, indefinable feeling of "this is a great place to work." Where does that culture come from?

Taking care of your employees.

Your people are your teammates. One organization I know refers to their folks as team members more than as employees. That language elevates the dignity of every position, whatever the title they hold.

It may seem to be common sense that you should take care of your teammates, but it's amazing how many companies lose sight of common sense, particularly the larger they get. It becomes more about policies, procedures, rules, standards, etc. I'm all for fairness, for consistency, for smart business practices. But above that, these are people we work with.

Do you know anything about their personal life? You don't have to know their life story, but are you aware of any dimension beyond their work.

Do you know of a hobby or talent or passion that is lying untapped? Can you work it out so they can shine with that skill in some task in your workplace?

Are they distracted by a personal problem?

When is their birthday? The anniversary of their hire date?

Have you ever said "thank you" sincerely? (Not just the typical "thanks" at the end of every email.)

Do you go out to lunch with a variety of co-workers rather than the same group of peers?

Do you gossip or complain rather than uplift people to others?

Do you ever initiate casual conversation to build relationships rather than just talk about work projects? (For conversation starters, follow me on Twitter. Every day at 2:30EST I provide info about what unique holiday it is and it can prompt interesting discussions with your coworkers.)

If the peanut butter is your organization, the honey are these extra but invaluable things that you do to be sensitive to the feelings of those around you. Believe me, you will get far more cooperation by adding a little sincere honey to your surroundings by being thoughtful rather than being demanding, pushy, and overly direct. Maybe, in part, that's where the saying "You catch more flies with honey..." came from.

Application: What one suggestion above can you begin to implement to build better relationships with your coworkers?

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