AN EXITING EXPERIENCE

FOR EMPLOYEES SERVING THEIR NOTICE PERIOD, THE JOURNEY TOWARDS THE EXIT DOOR, MA
NY CLAIM, CAN BE QUITE EXCRUCIATING. SO, WHY DO SOME ORGANISATIONS EXHIBIT A DIS
CRIMINATORY ATTITUDE TOWARDS EMPLOYEES, ON THE EXIT MODE? YASMIN TAJ FINDS OUT W
AYS THROUGH WHICH ORGANISATIONS CAN ADDRESS THIS ISSUE
THOUGH job-hopping is quite a common phenomenon these days, the process of movin
g out is not always a pleasant experience. It can be traumatic and devastating f
or the person who s on his/her way out. For Anirudh, a VPmarketing working in a le
ading multi-national company, heaven fell apart once he declared his decision of
quitting his previous organisation. There can be numerous reasons behind an emp
loyee s decision to move towards the exit door and Anirudh too had a few, but litt
le did he know that he would have to bear the brunt of his decision. Though Anir
udh had a genuine reason (he was planning to shift industries) to quit his organ
isation, he was a little too surprised by his organisation s approach towards his
decision. As per rules, once a certain employee decides to leave the organisatio
n, he/she is supposed to serve a notice period and Anirudh, just like any other
employee, was serving his. But Anirudh says that he received the cold shoulder,
under several occasions, from his organisation, post his decision. They felt tha
t it was illogical to give him important projects or involve him in major decisi
on-making during that time. He also missed out on an opportunity to travel abroa
d for a project that he had initiated. The organisation was also wary of sharing
sensitive information with him and any suggestions that he tried making towards
the organisation s growth, was wickedly overlooked. The organisation not only cle
arly shunned his hard work of many years but also indirectly questioned his loya
lty. Anirudh, today, confesses that the whole exiting experience was truly nightma
rish. Therefore, the million dollar question is, how does an organisation deal w
ith this issue and make sure that the employee does not have to go through a pai
nful exit?
SENSE AND SENSITIVITY
Generally, the immediate supervisors, of employees
serving their notice period, can make the exit process
very painful. In such instances, the immediate
supervisors lack the professional maturity and efficient people management sk
ills. It is important for supervisors to appreciate and acknowledge the work don
e by their subordinates in the past and ensure that their last days in the compa
ny should be enjoyable. This ensures that the departing employee leaves the comp
any with pleasant memories, expresses Sandeep Soni, ED and CEO, Spanco BPO.
According to Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, CEO, MD & Founder, MAXrad SOFTware (India
) Pvt. Ltd, Unfortunately, no employer in the world can accept, wholeheartedly, a
resignation, especially from a key employee! In our case, being an engineering
services company that manages a lot of vital data, it is obviously painful as we
ll as uncomfortable to involve the employee for future project discussions or ex
ecutions, if he or she has already put in his/her papers. In today s booming job sce
nario where jobs are aplenty, people have become the only competitive advantage
and hence, it s imperative for managers to become attrition agnostic. Employee exi
t, though undesirable, is a situation that we have to deal with, adds S J Poornim
a, Manager - Finance and Admin, Stratify Software India Pvt Ltd.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Once an employee has expressed his/her intention of
moving out openly, does the organisation change its
perception regarding the loyalty of that particular
worker? Does the company lose trust in such an employee and refrain from givi
ng him/her sensitive information or some serious responsibility? Is there a feel
ing of anger or distrust towards the concerned employee? Dr Naresh Malhan, MD, M
anpower India expresses, Trust is an outcome of multiple factors. Once the separa
tion process starts, the trust gets impacted and wherever transparency between e
mployee-employer is low, the suspicion grows and trust reduces. Also, very often
employees move to competitors and therefore the organisation invariably loses t
rust in those employees. Gopalakrishnan agrees and adds, Yes, it is quite natural
that no employer probably will be able to give sensitive information or serious
responsibility to a person on his/her exit mode. But as a professionally managed
organisation, there is no question of anger or distrust. These phenomena are qu
ite common and normal everywhere, every time.
A SMOOTH TRANSITION
In times when employer branding is much talked about,
an employee is also considered a brand ambassador of
the organisation. Hence, no organisation would want an
employee to leave on a sour note and spread a bad word about the company. How
do organisations try to make sure that the process is comfortable for both, the
employee and the employer? It is important that the company deals with such empl
oyees in a sensitive manner. Mature companies and candidates realise that the pr
ocess should be a two way mutually fulfilling relationship; hence grace and prof
essionalism should be intact for long term gains, says Malhan. Gopalakrishnan sta
tes, Impose a clear exit policy in the company and make sure that it is getting f
ollowed every time. It s vital to understand that like people, processes are also
equally important. And by keeping a tab on these processes and its outcomes, one
can ensure a smooth transit. Last but not the least, respect the employee till
the very last. There are chances of him/her coming back to the same organisation
and he/she could also bring in some business later (it happened in our case, a
number of times!).
At Stratify Software, the notice period in all ways, becomes a mentorship perio
d. The initiatives that the employee was involved continue to be a part of his wo
rk profile, even after he/she had signed his resignation letter and every notewo
rthy contribution made by him/her should be appreciated, till the last day. Norm
ally obtaining no-dues from various departments and relieving letter are an empl
oyee s onus. But in our organisation, HR and the admin department own up that resp
onsibility. All exiting employees go through the exit interview and they are als
o asked for their feedback on various subjects during the exit process as well, s
ays Poornima. According to Ajeet Chauhan, VP, HR & Training, Nirula s, When an empl
oyee decides to part with us, our thought process is more introspective than vin
dictive. We never burn bridge with the leaving employee, rather, we perceive thi
s as a logical progress a person has chosen for his/her career and to us also, t
his gives an opportunity to enroll new talent and get a fresher outlook. For Soni
, To ensure a pleasant experience for employees during their notice period, compa
nies must ensure that they clearly convey how they want their employees to be tr
eated from the date of joining to their last working day. This will ensure that
the company values their employees even after they ve put in their papers.
Letting go is never an easy thing to do, be it personally or professionally,
especially when you have given your sweat and blood to an organisation.The least
organisations can do is to make sure the process does not become too painful fo
r the employee who is on his/her way out, by being supportive and empathetic.