An employee departure within your business, regardless of whether they have been with the business 12 months or twelve years, can have an impact.
It can impact the level of service the business is able to provide due to reduced staffing level.
It can affect team morale by both the person leaving and due to possible angst over workloads and delegation of tasks.
There is also managing client expectations due to a new business contact.
How can you minimise the impact?
There are a proactive steps that you can take now, before an employee leaves.
Succession planning
Start by ensuring there is someone else in the team that can perform the tasks of each role within your business. From completing a stationary order, to administration of systems, through to processing client orders or requests.
Recruitment Strategy
Develop a clear strategy for recruiting new employees including where to advertise, interview question banks and the format of the assessment (ie. behavioural interviews, one on one interview with senior manager or psychometric testing). Alternatively you might use a recruitment agency to assist.
Policies and Procedures
Ensure you have a method for capturing and reviewing policies and procedures. This will ensure that even the tasks that are completed on a less frequent basis can be carried out in the same way no matter who performs that task.
Technology
Utilise systems to store information in a central location so that all employees know where to access it as well as naming and folder conventions.
With every employee departure there will be a period of adjustment while you decide how the business should respond. By having a plan in place this will ensure that you are as prepared as you can be for the changing over of employees. Work can continue on as normal as possible, bills can continue to be paid and employees hours and workloads won’t be adversely affected.
For assistance with minimising the impacts of an employee departure in your team, contact Small Business Society.
The information provided in this document is for your guidance only and is general in nature. It does not constitute as legal advice. It is the responsibility of the individual to seek legal advice where required.
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About Kate Tongue
Kate Tongue is the founding Director of Small Business Society.
She is a qualified and experienced Human Resources professional with more than 10 years of experience across the private and public sectors.
Her particular interest and experience is in managing the employee life cycle, delivering process improvements, and Human Resource strategy.
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