Most organisations accept that staff turnover is an inevitable part of being an employer: there will always be a time when a business can’t meet the current needs of every employee.
However, what really is paramount is that you invest in managing the leaving process and develop an exit HR strategy for leavers as it can lead to reduced loss of employees in the future, increases the likelihood of retaining current talent and recruiting boomerang employees.
Just like HR teams focus on properly on-boarding new hires with orientation sessions, there are many benefits of having a proper strategy in place for when employees flee the nest.
Why engage with people who have decided to leave?
Engaging with employees who are leaving a company is known as off-boarding and as it is at the very end of the recruitment process it very often gets forgotten, ignored and is sadly underrated in the war for talent.
Making the leaving experience of any employee the best it can be for all involved is important to ensure that you help your business overcome talent turnover and because it can have a dramatic impact on organisational growth and performance.
However, the real benefit is that it offers insights on why employees are leaving which can aid and enhance other areas of talent management such as recruitment, performance and retention. Plus, let’s not forget it can convince the best talent to return to work for your business in the future: the so-called boomerang employee.
So, what are the best off-boarding tactics?
Invest in technology - technology can have a dramatic and cost-effective impact on an off-boarding strategy, by automating a great deal of the process such as exit interviews. It can also be utilised to engage with leavers to encourage rehires.
Exit interview - an exit interview should be scheduled for every employee who resigns with the goal of gathering as much information and insight into why the person is leaving. This is a prime opportunity to gain knowledge such as salary or work-life balance issues.
Establish alumni groups and branding - alumni groups are powerful tools to improve recruitment strategies, especially with passive candidates and help grow employee engagement. Employers can take a role in creating, managing and engaging with these programs and need to treat their alumni with the same level of attention and support that they show their customers and existing employees.