A Better Employee Exit Experience Can Help Attract New Talent, Gallup Says

By Ava Mandoli, Inc. (TNS)

Rudeness, hostility, and negativity: probably not words you’d want a worker to associate your business with, even after they leave.

Yet, a quarter of workers said their managers responded in one of those three ways when they chose to leave their company, according to new data from research firm Gallup. Another 10 percent of workers said they were met with indifference or a total lack of acknowledgement.

According to the Gallup report, many business leaders are not confident in their company’s ability to navigate employee exits: Only around 10 percent of the 150 surveyed CHROs said they feel their company is “highly effective at how they manage employee departures.” And even though turnover can have high costs for businesses, only 7 percent of surveyed workers felt their manager made an effort to retain them.

But when voluntary leavers do have a supportive exit experience, the departing employee and the company can both benefit. In the Gallup report, around four in 10 voluntary leavers were satisfied with their exit process. And employees who were extremely satisfied with their departure process were 43 percent more likely to strongly agree that they would recommend their prior organization to others as a great place to work.

A positive departure can also strengthen team culture among employees who remain, Gallup noted. Seeing the process play out positively can strengthen employees’ trust that they “will be treated fairly at critical moments during their careers,” the report said.

Managers are key in setting the proper tone: When managers are supportive, Gallup found, employees are 6.2 times more likely to be somewhat or extremely satisfied with their departure process.

Managers and other business leaders can improve the departure process by showing exiting employees support and encouragement, celebrating their accomplishments, and—as appropriate—letting employees know they’ll be considered for future roles, according to the Gallup report. Messages from peers celebrating the departing worker’s accomplishments can also have a positive impact on that worker’s long-term reflections on their work.

Each of these actions, Gallup says, can help create a “network of brand ambassadors” for your business.

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