Could Your Offboarding Process Hurt Retention and Recruitment?
By Dawn Peak
Organizational change is common in most companies and often creates risk with not only current employees, but also a company’s brand, especially when not handled well. Most companies attempt to move through the change without considering the ramifications of the process. As a company changes focus and redistributes resources, staff layoffs are common. This is where Offboarding comes in.
Companies spend so much time, money, and resources on Onboarding new employees and for good reason. It helps build morale, creates a positive culture, increases viability in the company brand, increases productivity, etc… But what about Offboarding employees? This is not a happy time and the Offboarding process is often difficult for all parties involved. Yet, when done poorly, this process could destroy all the positive work the Onboarding program created. In fact, the way you handle employees on the way out says more about your culture and brand than Onboarding. The departure is what is remembered the most about a company.
So, how does this affect your employee retention and recruitment? Your current employees are watching how change happens in the company. They often know how the departure is handled too by talking to the transitioning employees. The future candidates are watching too but often from outside sources like Glassdoor, Google, and Indeed. Challenger encourages job seekers to research potential companies on sites like Glassdoor. Who do you think is leaving these ratings for companies? Most ratings are left by previous employees.
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New candidates are doing their homework by looking at the ratings and comments to learn more about the culture of the company. It is nice to have a mix of ratings from current employees and previous employees. Your best chances of having these social media tools work for you is by building a strong Offboarding program that is as thoughtful and helpful to the employees in transition as your Onboarding is to new employees.
Think about your Offboarding process. Could you improve this process to make it easier and more compassionate for the exiting employees? Most companies could use a checkup in this area with some improvements. Chose a partner that can help you with the whole process and think through the best ways to make this a more positive experience for all.
If you are thinking about revisiting your Offboarding process, click here and I will send you a free tool to jump-start the process.
