My Direct Report Just Quit, What Do I Do?
I’ve written plenty on how to quit a job, but how do you respond when you’re on the other side of things?
I’ve written plenty on how to quit a job, but how do you respond when you’re on the other side of things?
The real #1 here is “don’t turn into a jerk.” They are leaving. It’s done. Don’t make it more difficult than it needs to be. Instead, move forward and think about how to help the rest of your team.
There are so many more “do not’s” when someone submits their resignation, but we’ll get to that in a later post. The below outlines how to create a solid transition plan from the moment someone hands in or emails their resignation through their final day, and how to prevent your ship from sinking in between.
1. Determine the final day for the exiting employee
In many cases, the exiting employee will give two weeks' notice (thank you archaic business practices). In some cases, that two weeks won’t be needed. No one wants to sit around waiting to finish out their time, so make some decisions and determine if the full two weeks are needed. If not, set them free.
Both parties are looking to move on, so don’t drag it out.
2. Work with HR on offboarding schedule
In mid to large-size businesses, you likely have some established HR practice. In those cases, there’s a procedure for how the exiting employee will be offboarded (exit interview, when access will be shut off, when the final sleeve of oreos in the snack cupboard will be sent, etc).
Work with HR to understand the schedule so you know when everything should be wrapped up. Forward this along to your departing teammate as soon as possible so they’re not left in limbo.
3. Give the exiting employee the details on communication and schedule
They are as interested as you in how to go about leaving your organization, so be sure to communicate the decisions of:
Their final day
What you will work with them on during that time
When/how you or the individual will be informing other teams
What work you’re hoping they can wrap up prior to departure
Clear communication makes life easier for everyone.
4. Decide on backfill solutions
Backfilling the position
Work with your own boss or whoever makes hiring decisions and confirm at what level you will backfill the departing individual. Are there others on your team that are stepping up or close to a promotion?
Maybe you can drop a level and instead of hiring a Senior, hire a mid-level individual. It’s also possible someone on another team would be interested in moving to yours.
Think about the team dynamic and go from there.
Backfilling the work
If mid-project, finalize the work that they have in flight, or are planning to do. Determine with the individual what seems reasonable for them to accomplish prior to leaving. All other items should then get notes as to status and next steps the individual would have taken. This makes for an easier hand-off.
Beware, some folks will drag their feet as soon as they put in their two weeks, so while you can hope they will continue their work, be ready with contingency plans.
Backfilling the subject matter expertise
How’s your bus factor? If this individual was the only person to know a particular thing about your business, work with them to document what they know and what to watch out for.
This is especially important if they are more tenured or have secret work they’ve been doing.
5. Give them space to say goodbye
One of my worst exit experiences came when I was not the one to tell my team I was leaving. I was later told, “no company does that,” which to this day, I still think is a load of malarkey. Working with the individual leaving, I like to discuss “how would you like to tell your team?”
In cases where I’m worried about messaging, I’ll craft it with the individual but still give them a chance to express the words. Get out of their way and let them go about their goodbyes.
Publicly, teams will generally ask where the individual is going. Privately the individual will get asked why they are leaving. Managers can’t prevent this, so lean into it and work with everyone to answer questions where you can better control the messaging.
Avoiding answering questions leaves a lot more up to speculaton — of course they may not believe what you say anyway, but it’s better than not answering at all.
Bonus: Conduct an actual exit interview
I’ve seen lots of posts about how exit interviews are a waste of time and “management” puts your thoughts directly in the trash. Exit interviews are the last chance to get raw feedback from someone leaving. I’ve heard helpful feedback in every exit interview I’ve ever done.
They’ve got nothing to lose. Remind them this is gloves off time and promise (yourself and them) that you won’t get defensive. The person is already leaving, time to be the punching bag and turn it into something useful. More on this later.
Final Thoughts
Look, we hate to see people go, but it’s going to happen. People might be looking for different growth opportunities, a different boss (paranoia intensifies), or just need a new product or company to get excited about. We’ve all been there.
Gone are the days of the 20-year employee. Do your best to help your reports grow and stay engaged and maybe, just maybe, you can prolong their inevitable departure.