Caught Off Guard
None of us like it when a valued employee leaves. The announcement of his decision to leave is as much a shock as the leaving itself. How often have we wished we had been forewarned of the event? How many times do we feel we’ve been caught with “our pants down”… in our unawares?

It’s one thing to have an employee leave; it’s another to be caught off guard. The emotional impact can be demoralizing for the boss as well as other employees. Since other employees and peers of the departing person usually know beforehand, management is further embarrassed by their own shock and surprise.

There usually aren’t a lot of things companies can do to keep turnover from happening. We discuss in other HIRING LINES the reasons why it might be more prominent in business these days than in past decades. But suffice it to say it is going to happen. Different companies have different personalities and attitudes toward turnovers. Many firms expect higher turnover than others, some concentrate on keeping it low. Nonetheless, when unexpected resignations come about they can be at the least distracting and at worst devastating.

Be Prepared
The first line of defense regarding resignations is to be prepared for it at all times. Most managers are devastated by resignations because they don’t expect them. The best preparation is to expect that resignations can happen any time. It will most likely be at the worst time, as resignations are never at good times. The first lesson learned by anyone considering themselves a professional is there are very few people in any organization who are irreplaceable. Most organizations can survive regardless of who comes or goes. Just recognizing that any subordinate could unexpectedly resign at anytime absorbs the shock of when it happens. Being prepared for but not necessarily expecting resignations keeps management in control. Having contingency plans for resignations that are enacted when necessary, promotes confidence in management personnel. Low emotional reactions to resignations and contingency plans when they do occur instills confidence as well as creates a business as usual atmosphere. One mark of a professional is to be prepared for, even expect, surprises.

Openness
Creating an atmosphere of openness on the part of management allows managers to be forewarned of unexpected resignations. This atmosphere may not keep the resignation from happening but will promote the chance to be informed by the resigning employee in plenty of time to find a replacement or be informed by others who may know beforehand of the resignation. Forewarned is forearmed!

We might add that openness does not mean weakness. A manager can be open but strong and firm. Openness requires the freedom of give and take. It does not require a democratic process or atmosphere.

The First Six Months
During the first three to six months of employment of a subordinate, no manager should count on him being a long term employee. In spite of what we say or assume, most new employees spend time evaluating their new company, job, peers, and bosses. The honeymoon lasts one to six months depending on many factors. Then the aspects of any job that become mundane or difficult (why do you think we call it WORK) come to the surface and the newness wears off. Unfortunately few of us see our work as play. Most people don’t and when the elation of a new position, company, etc., wears off reality sets in and parts of the job become work and some people quit their new job right then. The more removed a new position is from what an employee had done before the more likely he is to become quickly disenchanted with his new move and may quit in a very short period of time. The main reason for this is that he is now evaluating a different job function with the feelings and emotions associated with a previous and different career of previous job function. This happens, for instance, with sales people who are hired with no previous sales experience. They may objectively know what goes into sales, but once they experience the refusal and rejection of sales, they may change their minds about selling.

Longevity Can’t Be Predicted
Our experience has been that there is not a lot a company can do to keep the above from happening. Careful interviewing, screening, etc., does keep it from occurring more often and it may happen so rarely. It doesn’t have any impact. The point is to be aware of it’s possible occurrence and don’t count on any new employee as being a long term player for at least six to eight months. This doesn’t mean that they will not contribute. It does mean that their longevity with the firm cannot be predicted. The higher the position the less likely a short term stint will occur. But it happens on vice-president and presidential levels too. Managers from first line to boardrooms and directors just can’t count on their managers staying just because they were recently hired. In fact they should resign themselves to the fact that there is going to be a longer evaluation period on the part of the new employee than by them. We have a tendency to think that once we hire a candidate to fill our vacancy, the vacancy problem is solved. That just may not be so.

Tony Beshara is owner and president of Babich & Associates.   Beshara has been in business since 1973, and he alone averages $2.5 – $4 million per year in billings. If you have any questions about this article, please call (214) 823-9999.

© Tony Beshara, Babich & Associates