Anyone involved in the recruitment process knows it takes a lot of time and effort to find the right candidates and onboard them effectively. Not so much thought is given to what happens when an employee leaves your company.
The offboarding or separation stage includes actions such as handing over responsibilities, conducting exit interviews, and providing support for the transition to a new job. The truth is, this is often the forgotten stage, but is just as important as the onboarding process. A bad separation can have a lasting impact on both the employee and the organisation.
Here are some tips to make sure your offboarding process is effective and leaves a positive impression on your employees:
1. Make it personal: offering a personalised employee experience is important, and this is no different. This could include a goodbye kit, a personalised letter from the CEO or team lead, or an offboarding buddy to help with the process.
2. Conduct exit interviews: exit interviews are a valuable opportunity to gather feedback and improve your processes. Make sure to conduct them with departing employees and use the information gathered to make positive changes.
3. Provide support: share resources and support to help employees with their transition, such as job search assistance, references, or information about unemployment benefits. For situations where the move is their choice, make sure you have support elements in place too.
4. Maintain relationships: stay in touch with former employees and maintain positive relationships. They may become valuable in the future, for things like referrals or potential re-hires.
How well offboarding is handled can have a significant impact on an employee’s perception of their time at a company and their future career prospects. Handled poorly it can leave a negative impression and discourage the employee from speaking positively about the company in the future. Handled well, it can strengthen the employee’s positive memories of their time at the company and encourage them to speak highly of it to others.
With a little effort and creativity, you can create an offboarding process that leaves a lasting positive impression on your employees and strengthens your company’s reputation.
Find out more about The Field Model and how it can improve your employee experience. We talk about this in more detail in our LinkedIn article Warm welcomes, fond farewells – why every stage of the employee lifecycle matters. If you’d like some help improving your employee experience, please get in touch here to book a free 15-minute call.
