In the 7 Phases of Engagement, I proposed that each phase ties directly to the employee lifecycle and has the potential to impact the success of a company in terms of its ability to engage employees.
The sixth phase of engagement is Transition/Termination.
Let’s begin by looking at how an employee comes to the transition/termination phase of engagement. An employee’s tenure at a company ends in one of two ways. 1) They voluntarily leave or 2) they are let go by the company. Most people would assume that engagement ends once the employee is no longer a part of the company and that would be a mistake. Continuing to engage has the potential to benefit the company. Thus how a company handles these situations is important.
Transition
Employees leave a company for many reasons. There are employees who leave for more senior roles, better pay, more flexibility, etc. And then, there are those that leave to escape management, toxic environments, and stagnation. When an employee decides to leave a company, it provides the company an opportunity to analyze why the employee chose to leave and to make adjustments as a way to retain current employees.
Alison Green offers 5 Steps to Take When an Employee Resigns.1 It comes down to how you react and how you plan for the employee’s departure. Stay positive and try to maintain a relationship with the employee.
Some companies are trying to be proactive in helping employees decide to leave. Zappos is known for “The Offer.” During orientation, the company offers a cash incentive to any employee that decides to leave the company as a way to ensure that only those dedicated to the Zappos mission are retained. Now, Amazon, which bought Zappos in 2009, is offering a similar incentive. The difference is that its incentive is offered annually to those in its fulfillment area as a way to divest of those employees who aren’t passionate about working there. 2
Termination
Based on the economy and business needs, companies find it necessary to let employees go. Most terminations occur because of reorganizations, consolidations, etc. making the employee’s position obsolete. Given the potential legal aspects associated with termination, it is important to coordinate with HR and to follow the set procedures. In her Tips For Terminating an Employee Respectfully, Brandi Gordon notes that “employers must consider the personal impact on the individual, and often forgotten, the message the separation sends to the remaining employees.”3 Again, it comes down to how you react and how you plan for the employee’s departure.
Why Continue to Engage?
Whether the employee is transitioning or being terminated*, it is important to maintain an amicable relationship. The company needs the employee to be an advocate. As an advocate, they may refer other candidates for employment, they may speak positively or refrain from speaking disparagingly about the company to their network, and they may decide to return to the company at some point. Just as employees are instructed to not burn any bridges, companies should follow the same advice. The transition/termination phase of engagement sets the stage for the final phase of engagement: Alumni. Stay tuned as I wrap up the 7 Phases of Engagement next week.
*There are cases where employees are let go because of ethical or criminal acts and thus no future relationship is desirable.
1 Green, Alison.5 Steps to Take When an Employee Resign, Intuit QuickBase. 16 July 2013. Web. 22 April 2014. http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2013/07/16/5-steps-to-take-when-an-employee-resigns/
2 Taylor, Bill. Why Amazon Is Copying Zappos and Paying Employees to Quit. Harvard Business Review Blog. 14 April 2014. Web. 22 April 2014.
3Gordon, Brandi.Tips For Terminating an Employee Respectfully. SharedHR.com. 31 January 2013. Web. 22 April 2014. http://hrservices.sharedhr.com/sharedhr-news-bulletin/bid/263985/Tips-For-Terminating-an-Employee-Respectfully
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Recap for Week of April 14 – 18, 2014
- Promotion/Advancement: The Fifth Phase of Engagement
- Employee Engagement: The Fourth Phase of Engagement
- Onboarding: The Third Phase of Engagement
- Hiring Process: The Second Phase of Engagement
- Pre-hire: The First Phase of Engagement
- 7 Phases of Engagement
Let’s Get Engaged!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
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