HOW TO RESIGN FROM YOUR JOB WITHOUT LEAVING A BAD IMPRESSION

Notice periods can be tricky. From the moment you hand in your resignation or are notified of redundancy, your relationship with your employer changes. Staying professional during this time is vital.

WHY DO PEOPLE QUIT A JOB AND HOW?

You may have decided to move on to a new role or choosing to focus on your job search. Alternatively, you may have been fired, made redundant or have accepted a voluntary redundancy. Each situation for leaving a role comes with different considerations.

If you have been made redundant you are likely to be eligible for statutory compensation payments and should make sure you talk to the human resources (HR) team to find out how much you’re entitled to, what your exit date is and how the process will be managed. There are two types of redundancy:

• Voluntary when you are given the choice whether or not to take redundancy.
• Involuntary when you are forced to take redundancy. These usually target roles that are no longer required – in some cases employees are given the choice to move to a different role in the company or leave.

If you have been offered voluntary redundancy, there are a few things you should consider:

• Is the company struggling? A good voluntary redundancy package is worth considering if involuntary redundancies might be coming in the near future.
• Is the financial offer better than the statutory minimum and how soon would you need to find a new job?
• How likely are you to find a new role in your area of expertise and location?
• Is this an opportunity to be paid to leave and try something different?

If your continued presence at work has the potential to damage the business – for example you have sensitive knowledge about deals or projects that rivals would be keen to know – you may be put on ‘gardening leave’. This means you spend your notice period at home on full pay and cannot work elsewhere until it is over. When this happens you could be asked to leave work immediately, you may be escorted out of the building and unable to say goodbye to colleagues, which can feel unpleasant. But you shouldn’t take this personally – the company is simply protecting itself and, essentially, giving you extra paid holiday.

If your employment has been terminated for performance reasons you will either be required to work out your notice period, or asked to leave immediately, with or without pay, if the issues are severe enough.

HOW TO HAND IN YOUR RESIGNATION

If you choose to leave an organization you will need to let your manager know by resigning. If you have easy access to your manager and a good relationship you should schedule a face-to-face meeting to tell them. Follow up with a formal, date stamped, resignation letter or email that will be kept on record.

If you can’t easily reach your manager, or have a strained relationship, writing a letter or email of resignation is fine. Either way make sure you retain a copy.

Conversations, letters or emails informing your manager of your resignation do not need to be long. They should just state you are resigning and the date you would like your notice period to be triggered. Your manager, or other leaders in the company, may at some point want to have a conversation about your reasons for leaving. But the act of resigning should be short and concise. There’s no need to explain why or what your plans are.

If and when these discussions happen, think about how much you want to share. In our experience less is better, but your manager may want to know why a good employee is leaving so be prepared to share any frustrations you’ve experienced, without making it personal. If your manager, or other leaders, were a key influence on your decision to leave, only share feedback during a formal exit interview with one of the HR team. Not directly with the people concerned.

The temptation to send a long email to colleagues listing the shortcomings of a particular manager may be strong. Although it might feel cathartic and raise a smile, it isn’t professional and could do more damage to your future than to your manager’s.

YOUR NOTICE PERIOD

This will be in your contract and will dictate how soon you can leave. You should finalize your agreed exit date as soon as possible, which is why it’s important to send a formal email with a date stamp to trigger your notice period.

Our advice is to continue with business as usual during your notice period while avoiding taking on anything new. Discuss and agree a transition plan for any work you’re involved with – if it helps write a list of all your responsibilities and projects and agree who will take them on.

Once your departure date is agreed, make sure you engage with the HR team and finalize details of any payments you are entitled to. Your last day of employment will be used to calculate entitlements such as leave due, pro-rata commissions and so on.

The question you’re most likely to hear during your notice period is “where are you going?”. You don’t have to tell anyone, but if you’re happy to share the information, you can. If you’d rather not, try replying: “I’ll let you know when I start work” or “I’d rather not share at the moment”.

YOU’VE RESIGNED. WHAT NEXT?

If your manager really doesn’t want you to leave, the company may make you a counter offer. Counter offers can be financial or a commitment to make changes to your role. If you were not expecting a counter offer but get one, it can be flattering. But be wary. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests accepting one is a bad idea. For more on this read our guide to handling a counter offer.

If you are, definitely, leaving it’s likely your manager will want to announce your departure to the team when they are ready. Respect that decision and don’t tell anyone at work until your manager has officially made the announcement. When talking about your departure with colleagues remain positive. Don’t be tempted to tell them all the reasons why you weren’t happy, that you’re glad to be leaving and how wonderful your new job is going to be. Be humble and don’t gloat.

If you’re still looking for a new job, consider who you’ll ask to be a referee. Connect with colleagues on LinkedIn to help build your network and ask them to recommend you. Before you leave, send a short email to say goodbye with a link to your LinkedIn profile in case any want to stay in touch.

Many HR departments will require you to have an exit interview before your departure. In some cases it will be on the phone several months after you have moved on – the theory here is that emotions will have subsided and you’ll have had time to reflect on your experience at your former company.

The aim of an exit interview is for your previous employer to find out more about why people are leaving the business, what the business is doing well and what they could improve. Spend some time preparing for your exit interview and working out how to articulate your thoughts in a way that shows you are thinking about what is best for the company and what could help your successor. Keep feedback factual and professional.

STAY PROFESSIONAL UNTIL THE END

When you leave your job, voluntarily or not, how you conduct yourself before your departure date will leave a lasting impression. A lack of professionalism during your notice period will cloud how colleagues and managers feel about you.

It can be an emotionally difficult time. You are likely, for example, to be sidelined to some extent which can hurt. This could include:

• Decisions being made without involving you.
• Not being copied in on emails you used to be part of.
• Meetings taking place without you.
• Not having input on who replaces you.

Don’t be offended by this. Having said that, organizations must treat you properly and with respect. If you are not being treated, communicated with or compensated appropriately during your exit, you must tell your manager or HR.

ON YOUR FINAL DAY

Try not to skip into the office too gleefully. Once you’re there remove all personal information and data from company computers and phones before returning all company property such as passes, technology, documentation and files.

If you are leaving on bad terms, you might be tempted to delete or destroy company files and folders. Resist it. Anything that will reflect poorly on you or compromise you legally is a bad idea. Stick to the confidentiality and intellectual property protections in the terms of your contract and remember anything you have produced in your time with the company is their property. Not yours.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

People are connected more than ever before and regularly move companies. So creating enemies within your industry is extremely counterproductive. Retaining contact and rehiring old staff is considered a valuable way to recruit, so you’re likely to bump into former colleagues (loved or loathed) wherever you work.

By conducting yourself professionally and with integrity, you leave the door open to opportunities in the future.

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER:

• Remain professional at all times.
• Keep your resignation conversation short.
• Don’t take things personally during your notice period.
• Be wary of counter offers.
• If you’re not being treated fairly tell HR.