It’s the day that’s bound to come around eventually. The day one of your favorite employees decides to leave the nest. As you stare at their written notice they just handed you, you try your best to look supportive as they start explaining why they’re leaving.
How To Respond When Your Team Member Quits
It’s inevitable. No matter how good of a leader you are, you’re going to have team members quit. If you’re a good leader you’ve invested time training and molding your team members into high performers. In doing so, as their skills and confidence builds, their desire to continue moving up will grow. Knowing how to respond when they give you their notice is an important leadership skill.
Provide Support And Ask Questions
Your conversation needs to remain supportive and upbeat. Yes, you can share that you’re sad to see them go, but follow that up with some positive questions that show you care. Asking the why, what, where, and when is okay. These can help you find opportunities to potentially keep them on the team. If they don’t wish to talk details, respect that and end the conversation on a note of support. Let them know that their opinion matters to you and that your door is open if they’d like to talk about anything at a later time.
Treat Them The Same
You want to show them that your care for them is not conditional, so treating them the same is vital. If you penalize them during their final days at your company, you could undo the years of time investment and caring that you put into them while they were under your leadership.
In addition, sending someone out the door in a negative way could have far reaching consequences. Not only could your company take a hit with negative employee review, but you should also consider the fact that you may end up working together again in the future. Or who knows, maybe one day they’ll even be your boss.
Celebrate The Win
It may not feel like a win after your favorite employee turns in their keys or ID badge. The truth though is that you’ve done your job right. Leaders cultivate a culture of growth. If your mentorship and training helped another person to grow and further their career, that’s a testament to your leadership skills. You’ve done a great job in helping them in their career and you should celebrate the win.