The great resignation knocked on my door this month! Sadly, I will be losing a team member who after 12 years of dedicated service is ready to take on a remote gig offering flexibility to be closer to aging family. I’ve only known this gentleman for a short time, but I know he’s going to be hard to replace. His professionalism in how he handled delivering the news is the inspiration behind today’s newsletter: How to Resign with Grace.
Give enough notice to foster a smooth transition
The first time I submitted a letter of resignation, I gave
one year of notice. You read that right, a whole year! I was accepting a
fellowship to go to grad school at Florida State University and I didn’t feel
like the timing was right to leave my job or break my lease. As soon as I got
the news that I got into the program, I was overwhelmed by the idea of closing
out all my projects and moving and jumping back into the classroom. Thankfully,
my former professor who referred me to apply for the program let me know that
deferment for a year was an option and I would still get the fellowship. So, I
wrote my boss a short resignation letter and sat down with her to tell her I
planned to go to grad school. She was so thrilled to have such a long lead time
to replace me that when the year was up, she threw me a going away party and
invited half the campus to see me off!
Of course, a year notice to resign is very unusual and I’ve
not had the pleasure to give that much notice since, but I have given one-month
notices whenever possible because I realize how difficult it is to replace good
people. However, if you must move quickly to accept the other gig or you just
can’t stand to be where you are longer than necessary, you should plan to give
a minimum of two weeks’ notice. This is the typical length of time required by
human resources to stay in good standing with the company. Also, keep in mind
that your requested time frame may not be accepted. Your supervisor may ask you
to shift the date around an upcoming deadline or to remain available to help
train the next hire. Such requests are negotiable based on your availability
and again, you want to handle these conversations with grace.
Be prepared to leave
Before turning in your letter of resignation it will be helpful
to have your affairs in order, such as items you’ll want to give your
supervisor to help transition the next hire (responsibilities list, relevant
contacts, etc.) or items you’ll want to save for your personal records. Once
you provide notice, work will become a countdown to see how much you can
complete prior to leaving and it can be difficult to add your record-keeping on
top of that. If you’re a Type A, well organized person, this may not be a big
deal. However, if you’ve been on the job for a decade, two weeks to gather work
examples you want to save may seem like an impossible task.
In some instances, your date of separation from the company
could be bumped up by the supervisor to a
shorter timeframe or immediately. This may be requested in circumstances
where you work on sensitive information or if you’ve had previous negative
interactions with your supervisor. Being asked to separate immediately can be
jarring, however, remember that you provided a letter or resignation to
formally have the record show that you initiated the separation. This is
another reason why announcing your plans in a letter is important versus giving
notice verbally.
What to say and not say
According to Indeed.com,
your letter of resignation should be very concise. You should state
specifically that you are leaving the company, when your final date of
employment will be and thank the organization for the experience. This is not
the time to lament about how you were undervalued on the job or overlooked for
promotions. Remember, this letter goes into your HR file and becomes a part of
your permanent record with the organization. It’s important to demonstrate a
professional departure in case you should ever want to return to the
organization or want to use this employer as a reference in the future. If
there are specific duties you can do to help assist in the transition, you may
also list those. You do not have to include where you’re headed or why you’re
leaving.
Don’t take company property or proprietary items
Please make sure you return all laptops, cell phones and
other equipment loaned to you for work. You do not want the cost for these
items to be pulled out of your last check or your last check to be withheld
until the items are returned. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but
people will remember how you suddenly “lost” the company iPhone just as you
provided your letter of resignation. It’s not a good look. There once was an
employee who took it upon herself to delete company files in a team folder on
her way out the door and her supervisor learned about the missing data in the
midst of the farewell gathering that was being thrown for her. The supervisor
pulled her to the side to ask her about it. Her response was to storm out of
the party. HR got involved to withhold her final check and eventually the
missing documents were returned.
You never know when your path will cross with former employers
While in the moment it may seem like you will never need to
call upon a past employer ever again, you never know when your paths could
cross in the future. It’s not uncommon for a resume to land on a hiring
manager’s desk and he or she sees a familiar company listed in the work
history. They may take it upon themselves to reach out to a personal contact at
the company to informally ask about you. I’ve personally received one of these
calls about a direct report and although it meant I would lose the team member
(who hadn’t yet resigned), I was happy to give a glowing recommendation because
he was a joy to work with. However, how would that conversation have gone if
the staff member was so ready for their next opportunity that their work on the
job began to suffer or if they were a negative Nancy who sullied the mood of
the office with pessimistic conversations about how unhappy they were?
While I was working as an independent contractor in LA,
there came a time when the agency I was working for wanted to change the deal
structure of the projects I worked on. Instead of being paid per project (I was
working on about five at the time), they wanted to pay me one lump sum
regardless of how many projects came onboard. This wasn’t going to be cost
effective for me and ultimately, I told the agency I would close out my
existing projects for them and part ways. One of the partners called me and
fussed me out really good and I… took it. I told him I understood that he was
upset and how much I really enjoyed the projects that I had worked on, but that
the new structure wasn’t going to fit my needs and I would do everything to
make sure these final projects were wrapped up as neatly as possible. After he
got over his disbelief that I was really leaving, he had to accept my decision.
Years later, the owner of that agency called me and offered me an even better
job, making more money, which I accepted. Now, what if I had cursed that
partner out for getting loud with me? It could’ve impacted an entire chain of
events in my life that I was later blessed to experience, all because I offered
grace in a difficult situation.
In conclusion, it doesn’t matter if this moment has to be the best theatrical performance of your life….it is imperative that you resign in a manner that dignifies you as a person of good character and integrity. Last impressions are just as important as first impressions. When it comes to leaving a company, make sure your last impression is unforgettable for all the right reasons.
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