At some point in time, we all leave a job for exciting new opportunities. Generally, those we work with are happy for our advancement, even if they will be sad to lose us as a coworker. Sadly, there are some that don’t take the news so well. They make the exit process painful and turn a cold shoulder to those trying to grow their careers and themselves. Not only do these poor behaviors cause pain for exiting employees, they also have huge negative impacts on the companies themselves.
The Cost Of A Crappy Treatment
While most are excited to help celebrate their fellow employees advancement, there are sometimes those that feel betrayed by the move or feel resentment over it. These folks turn cold to those leaving and treat them in ways they shouldn’t. Often managers may not handle their employees leaving as well as they could. They feel the employee is leaving them hanging or ungrateful for seeking opportunities elsewhere. They change how they treat the employee during those last weeks. Here are some of the ways they hurt the company in turn.
Missed Potential Payday
Companies frequently ask their employees when looking for recommendations on other companies to do business with. Billions are spent with companies recommended by employees. If an exiting employee has a bad exit experience with your company, there’s little chance they’ll suggest you when asked in the future.
Those that weren’t treated the best as they left a company are very unlikely to want to work with that company again. And why should they? Poor treatment of employees often coincides with poor treatment of customers too. Would you risk your reputation on a company that had treated you poorly at the end?
Ruined Reputation
With the growth of the internet and sites like GlassDoor, employees can now share their company experience and recommendations with far more than just their personal network. With job seekers doing more to investigate the companies they’re looking to join, a bad review can cost your company great potential hires.
Even those that had a largely positive experience at a company can have their opinions tainted by a bad ending. We tend to reflect on experiences as a whole based on our most recent experience. Because of this, being treated poorly at the end of your time with a company can result in mostly satisfied employees having less than great things to say about their past employers. A poor experience at the end also tends to surface all the other low points when thinking back to the time with them.
Treatment Doesn’t End When Employment Does
Being considerate doesn’t end when they walk out the door either. Current employees notice how you talk about those that have left. If you never have a nice word to say about those that have gone, what will your employees think you’ll say when they leave too? The attitude you have towards those that are no longer with the company has a great affect on others at your company. The CEO that can’t say a good word about any past employees makes you wonder if the problem was with everyone they ever hired or the company itself.
Remember The Good Times
It’s always hard to loose a coworker. We spend a large part of our lives at work with them. Seeing them go isn’t something any of us way to see. When it’s time for them to leave, don’t focus on the bad. Remember all the good they brought to the office. The client work they did that helped bring you that big new contract or the things they’d do to make everyone laugh.
Focusing on the good and not allowing our negative emotions show will help to ease the hurt and give them the sendoff they deserve as they tackle their next life challenge. Leaving all that leave with a positive memory of the last days will help make their transition better and keep from costing your company big business.
