Firing People is Underrated as a Motivational Tool

Firing people is really under rated as a motivation tool – hear me out.

It’s not about punishment and intimidation – those things only work for short periods of time.  AND — as soon as you turn your back, people go back to what they were doing before.  It’s also not very nice.

Rather – by removing a consistent poor performer, you do that person’s peers (the rest of your team) a tremendous service.  If there are six people working on a team, and I am consistently not pulling my weight, then the impact of my non-performance is far more tangible on my peers than it would be to my boss.

This lesson was delivered home to me back when I had a real job as a manager – one that required me to occasionally fire people.  One member of our team constantly called in sick on short notice – a behavior that significantly, and negatively impacted his co-workers.  A bunch of us ended up working late because this person had called in sick, and we decided to go for a beer after work.\

We walked in to a local pub about 9pm, and saw our absent co-worker dancing on top of speaker.  It was quite obvious he’d been there for some time.  Apparently this fellow wasn’t very smart either – he chose to go partying at a place a block from work.

It was an easy decision to fire him, but what happened next surprised me.  Several of his peers thanked me getting rid of the guy, and one even challenged me on what took me so long!

I’m not suggesting you fire the bottom 10% of performers every month.  I am suggesting you provide crystal-clear expectations, do everything you can to help people be successful, and when the occasional person chooses to consistently betray his team and not perform, that you do not hesitate to remove that person.

Channel your “inner-Trump”.  Your team will thank you for it.

 

 

 

5 Reasons Performance Reviews Suck

In the past fifteen years, I’ve been in and out of dozens of organizations, all of which had some process for conducting Performance Reviews.  Of all of them, only one organization did them consistently, and did them well.  The rest of them conducted performance reviews that ranged between ineffective, and highly offensive.

This got me to thinking what all these organizations have in common when it comes to Performance Reviews, so here are the top five (of several dozen) reasons why Performance Reviews usually suck:

1)   Everybody wants more feedback – as long as it’s good. Yep… as much as your Gen Y types tell you they crave feedback, they really only want it if it confirms their worldview that they are beyond fantastic.  Any suggestions for improvement are usually met with a thud.  It is only the most elite of corporate cultures that have overcome this aspect of human nature.  These organizations train and encourage people to constantly seek out feedback that will make them better – which sometimes requires facing up to the fact you don’t do some things well.

2)   Performance Reviews are non-specific. They often contain broad sweeping statements about someone being “good with customers”, or “needing improvement on follow through”.  These observations are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.  If it’s not specific, don’t bother.  Bring data or specific behavioral observations.

3)   People are too polite.  Most supervisors hate performance reviews more than the employees.  So they try to get through them as quickly as possible, without hurting anyone’s feelings.  Great organizations, and great leaders use performance appraisals as catalyst for improvement.  This actually requires giving people feedback on how they can improve – rather than just trying to keep the peace.

4)   Performance reviews are structured too much like report cards. If the performance review is simply “the year in review” without any mention of the future, or developmental opportunities, then it is a waste of time.  Even more of a waste of time is a 4 or 5 point rating system that employees are graded on with little thought or explanation.  No wonder people hate them.

5)   They are disconnected with what people do every day. The big problem with performance reviews is that they are designed by HR people, or external consultants who have absolutely no idea what people in a particular role do everyday.  Hence people are assessed on things they rarely or never do, and the bulk of their efforts are not captured by the criteria or format used.

Employees don’t have any accountability for the Performance Review process.  OK… I said five reasons, so this one is a bonus.  In most organizations, the employee merely shows up for a performance review meeting, having lent no thought or effort to outcome.  Great organizations and great managers insist that employees complete some form of self-assessment in advance of the meeting so that the success of the process is shared.


 

Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review

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Why Conduct a Mid Year Performance Review?

  • Most organizations set their objectives at the beginning of the year, but much can change in six months time.  You need to keep objectives aligned with business changes.
  • The Mid Year Performance Review acts as a formal “check in” with the employee.  If you are only formally reviewing performance at the end of the year, you run the risk of surprising the employee with a poor review.  A Mid Year Performance Review gives the employee the opportunity to take corrective action before the formal end of year review.
  • It can solidify the actions you need the employee to take for the balance of the year.  It is an excellent opportunity to clarify and review specific goals and actions to be achieved by the end of the year.

Steps to Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review

  1. Employee provides self-assessment. Employees should have as much responsibility in the performance review process as the supervisor does.  The best way to ensure this accountability is shared is to insist that the employee conducts his/her own self-assessment using the same criteria and format as the supervisor will to assess performance.  The differences between ratings provides a fertile ground for discussion.
  2. Manager collects performance data and feedback. The manager should use data wherever possible, and at the very least list specific behavioral examples.  To use vague or non-specific statements when assessing performance is neither professional, nor useful.
  3. Review assessment and write review. Review the employee’s self-assessment, and write your own review as to the employee’s performance.  Incorporate all the data and examples you gathered in step 2, above.
  4. Conduct the Mid-Year Performance Review discussion. After both employee and supervisor have done their preparation, they need to meet to formally discuss performance.

The Mid Year Performance Review Discussion

  • This is the most important aspect of the Mid Year Performance Review.
  • Conduct a quick retention interview along with the performance discussion.  For example, you may simply want to ask how the employee perceives his/her work environment, and how challenged and satisfied they feel working there.  Too often, organizations wait until the Exit Interview to gather this feedback.
  • The employee should be given the opportunity to describe their deliverables against each objective and other projects.  They should be able to articulate what they’ve done in the first half of the year, and how that has contributed to their stated goals and objectives.
  • During the Mid Year Performance Review meeting, discuss feedback grounded in multiple perspectives from the organization.  In other words, how are the efforts of this employee important to the larger organization.
  • Ensure that key priorities are clear, and alignment is obtained on balance of year objectives.  This is an opportunity for both the employee and the supervisor to discuss changes or “course corrections” to ensure the employee is successful for her end of year review.

Three Things to Remember about Mid Year Performance Reviews

  • This is a listening exercise for the supervisor.  Listen carefully to both the content and context of the message being delivered.
  • Be candid and balanced in your feedback. Both parties will get much more out of the discussion if they are honest and forthright with each other.  Being too polite will not drive performance.  Nor will berating and humiliating the employee.
  • Clarify how you will support the employee.  It is important for the supervisor to commit to what she will do to enable the success of the employee.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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Improve Morale — Discipline People

So if I read all the management literature correctly, then to improve employee morale, I should hire a concierge, allow people to bring their pets to work, and every day at 3.00pm we should join hands in a circle and sing campfire songs.  Personally, I can’t think of anything that would make me start looking for alternative employment faster.

So what does impact morale, and should managers care?

First of all, they should care – just not about concierges and employee sing-alongs.  Morale is a key driver of attendance and retention both of which have a clear and immediate impact on costs.  Morale also creates and maintains employee discretionary effort — which has a clear and immediate impact on productivity, quality and safety.  Besides all of that, it’s just way more fun to work at a place where people are engaged.

There are several ways for leaders to impact morale.  Perhaps one of the most important is a consistent, fair, and well thought out progressive discipline process.  Yep, that’s right… I’m suggesting that progressive discipline and higher employee morale are highly correlated.  Here’s why:

When one member of a team consistently doesn’t pull his weight, it is rarely the boss that feels the impact of this.  Most often it is that laggard’s peers.  By addressing one person’s poor performance, others are both relieved and validated.  They are relieved that the discipline will either lead to the person beginning to pull their weight, or that the person will be replaced by someone who will.  They are validated by the demonstration that their effort is superior to that of the person receiving the discipline.

The most highly effective workplaces have predictable and clear consequences for both good and poor performance, so it is not good enough for a leader simply to focus on discipline.  However, many managers put off uncomfortable discussions about poor performance using the excuse that any intervention will harm morale.  In fact, the opposite it true.

Oh No.  Now you’ve got to go do it.

Go ahead… discipline someone for poor performance, and improve your team’s morale.

 

Employee Discipline Procedures: Progressive Discipline

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Below we talk about the following aspects of Employee Discipline Procedures:

  • Setting the stage for Employee Discipline Procedures
  • Issuing Warnings
  • The Progressive Discipline Meeting
  • Taking Corrective Action

Setting the Stage for Employee Discipline Procedures

Many managers fail to do their homework prior to launching in to Employee Discipline Procedures.  There are some things to do ahead of time:

Articulate clear expectations.  You cannot take an employee to task on things they were not aware they are accountable for.  There are a number of mechanisms to articulate those expectations:

  • Job descriptions
  • Performance agreements
  • Regular one on one meetings

Document everything.  A key part of Employee Discipline Procedures is the paper-trail.  You should have a file on every employee, and that file should contain details of all communication pertaining to performance.

  • Notes about informal discussions
  • Any emails pertaining to performance.
  • Documentation from more formal interventions.

Ensure you are prepared to focus on the behavior, not the person.  If you make it personal, it will much more difficult, and you may incur needless legal risk.

Have a Progressive Discipline process.  You must being your Employee Discipline Procedures knowing the various steps, and how it might end.

Progressive Discipline Process

Your first step in Employee Discipline Procedures is to check with your HR department or person to fully understand what systems and processes are currently in place.  In the absence of any such tools, use the following as a starting point for your Employee Discipline Procedures:

  1. Ensure expectations are clear.
  2. Highlight the gap between desired and actual performance.  You need to be as specific as possible when describing this gap.
  3. Issue verbal warning – Tell the person specifically what you want them to change, and in what time frame.  If there is a knowledge or skill gap, you will need to assist the person in bridging this gap.  Write down the details of the verbal warning (date, time, discussion points, and any witnesses present).
  4. Issue written warning with consequences.  If the performance has still not improved, you need to issue a formal written warning.  This should include very clear consequences as to what will happen if performance does not improve.  Again you need to be very specific about the gap between desired performance and actual performance.  You also need to specify timelines for improvement, and the next meeting.
  5. Issue second written warning.  This will have all the elements of the first letter, but also include a much more urgent sense of the consequences of continued poor performance.
  6. Take corrective action – a demotion, a suspension, or termination.  At this stage it will be largely dependent on the circumstances, but you need to follow through on the promised consequences in the previous warnings.

How to Issue Warnings in the Employee Discipline Procedures

  1. Highlight the gap between the desired performance and the actual performance.
  2. Issue a verbal warning.  Be as specific as possible, and make suggestions for improvement.  You need to document the verbal warning with the date and time, the details of the conversation, the follow up actions discussed, and any witnesses to the conversation.
  3. Issue a written warning. Be specific.  Be clear on the consequences
  4. Issue further warnings after an adequate period of time has passed to allow him/her to make the required improvements.

The Discipline Meeting

What to say:

  • Clarify the process, and what is about to happen
  • Provide in as much detail as possible with behavioral examples the deficiencies of performance or transgression that has brought everyone to this meeting.
  • Point out the negative impact to the organization and to the people that the undesirable performance has.
  • Describe in detail the desired behavior or action, and reference when and where this has been made clear to the employee previously

How to Say It:

  • Present case in neutral language
  • Be calm
  • Be as specific as possible (when, where, how many, etc.)
  • Focus on the facts
  • Be professional

Ask the employee to reply

  • Listen carefully
  • Ask for clarification if necessary.
  • Ask the employee for comments or potential solutions to resolve the issue.

Taking Corrective Action

Corrective action as part of your Employee Discipline Procedures, can take a variety of forms.  You need to determine what will be most likely to solve your problem.  In some cases, it may be suspension, in others it may be termination.  One thing you need to ensure when you get to this stage is that there are no surprises to the employee.  There should have been adequate warning and notice before you ever advance to this stage of the Employee Discipline Procedures.

3 Things to Remember about Employee Discipline Procedures

  1. Document everything, every time, always.  You need this to mitigate the risk of harassment or wrongful dismissal claims.  It is also good practice.
  2. Don’t over or under react to a situation.  Ensure the action you take is commensurate with the nature of the transgression
  3. Don’t make it personal.  It makes it much easier for all concerned if you can adequately detach personalities from the situation

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Employee Discipline Procedures (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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Gen X is a lot Like Jan Brady

This Generation X cohort is a real piece of work, isn’t it?  Is it possible to have a whole generation stuck in a massive inferiority complex?  It’s kind of like meeting a Canadian backpacking across Europe.  Yeah we get it – those 500 Maple Leafs you’re wearing mean you come from Canada.  The rest of us don’t really care that much, but you go ahead and dress up like a Mountie.

Gen X is not unlike when Jan Brady got completely bent out of shape because everything was “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.”  (You have to be a Gen Xer to get that reference).  Grow up Jan, and stop being so annoying.

Actually all this generation talk is getting a bit boring.

In 1994, I suffered through a breakfast seminar where the guest speaker was telling us how this new generation of worker was completely different than anything that had every come before it.  These Generation X types were not loyal to any employer, didn’t care too much about their jobs, and were just generally hard to get along with.

Remembering back on this particular breakfast seminar now, it was particularly offensive on at least three levels:

  1. About 2500 years ago, some guy named “Socrates” made the same observation.  I’m more familiar with the published works of Socrates than I am with the guest speaker (whose name I’ve forgotten) that morning, so I’m going to assume it wasn’t an original talk.  Although the flashy Powerpoint slides were something that Socrates never pulled off.
  2. Those entering the workforce in the early 1990s had just watched their parents be laid-off en masse after a lifetime of loyalty to their companies to take on a new role as an unemployed middle-aged former corporate drone with no real marketable skills.  Add to this, the fact that Generation X – to date the most educated generation in history – walked into a job market with very few prospects, and you may begin to understand some of their crankiness.
  3. These Gen Xers did finally manage to find jobs — though not the cool, self-fulfilling ones they were promised.  Fast forward in time twenty years and these Gen Xers are now lamenting the fact that the generation that came after them has no loyalty to their organizations, and don’t care too much about their jobs.  It really does come fully circle, doesn’t it?

We need to quit trying to rationalize and explain the fact it is each generations’ express mission to drive the generation immediately preceding it crazy.  How else can you explain the music of the devil (also known as Jazz) that today’s older retirees used to make their parents foam at the mouth with anger.

Your job as a leader is to get other people to do what you want them to do, because they want to do it (with credit to Dwight Eisenhower).  Spending a whole bunch of time trying to label and define different generations won’t help you with that.

Finally, just to prove there’s no hard feelings about the crack about Canadians above, this week’s video is dedicated to those viewing from Canada:

 

Your Mentor and Captain Marvel

What the hell is a mentor anyway?  I hear the word, and I always think of Captain Marvel’s alter ego, Billy Batson, and his nameless Mentor.  As best I can tell, Mentor’s job was to drive a Winnebago around the United States with no particular destination in mind, and to give clichéd advice to Billy, all while giving any casual observers the creepy feeling they might be witnesses some form of pedophilia in progress.

The Management Gurus will tell you that when mentoring works well, it is a relationship of high trust, where the Mentor knows and understands the technical, political and social ramifications of a particular organization, but does not have organizational power or control over a person.  Some organizations even assign two people to each other for a mentor-mentee arrangement.

I don’t think this type of relationship is really possible in most organizations, and here’s why:

  • We fired most of the middle-managers that could have served in such a role several years ago.  Now, outside of the occasional peer, there is no one to act in this capacity.
  • Mentoring relationships take time – years in some cases.  Most people don’t stay in one job, or at one location that long anymore.
  • Workplaces are generally lower trust environments than they were a decade or two ago.  Employees don’t trust the employer to act in their individual best interests, and employers see their people as disloyal.

Many organizations start these well-intentioned, but misguided attempts at mentorship programs.  Mentoring relationships, by definition, must occur organically, so drawing up a schedule to pair one person with another is a waste of paper.  Not to mention the awkward situation this puts the participants in:

“I’d like to introduce you to your new mentor!  Now run along and share your deepest fears and aspirations with this person.”

So here’s my alternative:  a personal Board of Directors.  Don’t be put-off by how badly publically traded companies have bastardized this good idea.  It is their implementation that is suspect, not the idea.  There are a variety of aspects of your professional life (and maybe your personal life, too) that could benefit from the external feedback of a Board of Directors.

If you’ve found a great mentor, then that person, may provide adequate direction for all axes of your professional life.  If you don’t have a mentoring relationship in place, you may want to consider a different person for each of the following areas:

  • Technical – how can you better execute the core skills of your job?
  • Political – how do you negotiate the politics?
  • Organizational/Social  — who are the true leaders of the organization, and who defers to whom?
  • Networking – Who do you need to know?  Who knows them?
  • Community involvement — What causes or initiatives should you be involved in.
  • Self-promotion – How do you raise your profile, without coming across as a bootlicker?

There are undoubtedly other categories unique to your situation too.  Perhaps you have people who can serve in more than one role, or maybe you have someone for each different aspect.

Just make sure you use their real name, and don’t address them as “Political Director”, otherwise you may leave people with that creepy impression like Billy Batson and Mentor did.

 

How to Mentor Someone

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Many leaders get the call, and then have to figure out how to mentor someone.  Below we discuss:

  • Why you would want to learn how to mentor someone.
  • How mentoring someone is different than simply managing someone
  • The role of the mentor
  • The expectations of the mentee
  • The mentoring agreement

Why Learn How to Mentor Someone?

  • By learning how to mentor someone, you will improve employee retention within your department or organization.  An Interim Services study revealed that 35% of employees who did not have a mentor planned to look for a new employer within the next year, while only 16% of those with good mentors indicated the same intention.
  • Learning how to mentor someone will capture employee discretionary effort.  A 2002 University of Georgia study proved that mentored employees perform better, advance more rapidly, and report greater job and career satisfaction.
  • Learning how to mentor someone can better position you as an employer of choice.  A MMHA Managers’ Mentor study discovered that 60% of college and grad students said that the availability of a mentoring program weighed heavily in their decisions regarding selection of an employer.

Mentors and Managers

Many leaders don’t bother to learn how to mentor someone, because they believe it is the same as managing people.  It is not.  Immediate managers provide direction, resources, encouragement, consequences and measures progress.  Mentors, on the other hand, provide high-level guidance and help track progress.

A manager and an employee have a reporting relationship; a mentor/mentee relationship normally does not have a reporting relationship.  Finally, a mentee is under no obligation to accept the feedback or advice offered by a mentor, whereas the feedback and advice offered by a direct supervisor is often not optional.

The Role of a Mentor

A key part of learning how to mentor someone is to understand the role of this important relationship.  As a mentor, you should act as a(n):

  • Sounding Board
  • Development Coach
  • Interpreter and Guide
  • Role Model

What the Mentee Expects:

The other critical component of understanding how to mentor someone is knowing what the other person is expecting of you:

  • Encourage learning, achievement, and trying new approaches.
  • Mentees value mentors who are good listeners.
  • The mentee expects the mentor to keep their confidences.
  • Mentors who provide specific and honest feedback regarding their performance.
  • Mentors who suggest strategies for specific work challenges.
  • Most of all, participants want mentors who care about them and want them to succeed.

The Mentoring Agreement

A very useful tool for learning how to mentor someone is the Mentoring Agreement.  There are a variety of different formats for Mentoring Agreements, but here are some standard category contents for a mentoring agreement:

  • Purpose
  • Responsibilities of the mentor and the mentee
  • Measures of Success of the mentoring relationship.
  • Barriers
  • Ground Rules
  • Meetings

Click here for a Mentoring Agreement Template (members only)

3 Things to Remember about how to mentor someone

1)    Don’t bother if you are not committed.  A mentoring relationship will take some time and energy.  If you are unwilling to make that investment, you should decide early on NOT to do so.

2)    It’s about accelerating development.  Mentoring relationships are intended to advance the career of the mentee, and skill building.  If you are uncomfortable in such a role, you should not volunteer.

3)    Use a mentoring agreement.  A bit of structure can advance the relationship significantly.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about How to Mentor Someone (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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The Grand-Mal Resignation: Great Theatre, Bad Practice

I worked with a client, who confided in me that he was about to quit his job in a senior leadership role within the organization.  Mike was really smart, and hard working, but had a bit of a blind-spot when it came to political considerations within the workplace.  He always insisted that he didn’t play politics.  What he failed to realize is that you can’t choose whether to play workplace politics or not.  You play, or you get played.

Mike and I role-played his resignation conversation a bit, and it became clear to me very early that this was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.  Mike was determined to teach his boss, and the organization a lesson on his way out.  No one was safe – his boss, his peers, and his direct reports were all targets of his wrath.

In completely unrelated news, Mike was a smoker.  Putting the addictive nature of tobacco use aside, people smoke because the short-term consequences of smoking are immediate, certain and generally positive.  How else can you look cool, get a nicotine high and relax yourself?  It feels good.  The longer-term death and illness are problems for another day.

Mike’s choice in how he chose to leave the organization was parallel reasoning, and equally as stupid.  He had watched too many crap-TV shows that erroneously illustrate people quitting their jobs by sticking it to their boss and the organization, feeling a huge sense of relief and a temporary euphoria before moving on to bigger and better things.

The reality of a grand-mal resignation is more like the eventual cancer and emphysema that smokers get.  It feels good for a few minutes, but ultimately sabotages the quitter’s longer-term career prospects.

Before Mike chose to light his future with the glow of the bridges he’d burned behind him, he may have wanted to consider how and when he might run into some of these people again.

Mike didn’t know which one of the peers he burned on his way out might be a hiring manager at another organization five years from now.  He also had no way to know that the boss he called everything short of illegitimate would also be submitting his notice shortly because he was taking on a new role at the same firm Mike was moving to.

Oh, that’s going to be awkward.  But they never talk about that on the sitcoms.

 

 

The Best Way to Quit Your Job

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The best way to quit your job, is to do it in a planned and deliberate way.  Below, we discuss why you should think about the best way to quit your job, what to do beforehand, how to make the actual meeting easier, what to do during the transition, and what to do after you quit.

“Don’t Let Your Future Be Lit by the Fires of the Bridges You’ve Burned Behind You”

Why You Want to Consider the Best Way to Quit Your Job:

  • You may want to “Boomerang”.  Many people have left their employer only to return a short time later because things didn’t work out.  If you don’t consider the best way to quit your job, you potentially close a door in the future.
  • You may need a reference.  If you consider the best way to quit your job, and do it well, you can call upon that employer for a reference in the future.  You may not think you need it now, but eventually you might.
  • You don’t know else might leave the organization.  One of your current peers, or perhaps a supervisor could change companies and be your boss one day.  If you don’t consider the best way to quit your job, you will leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth that will not serve you well in the future.

The Best Way to Quit Your Job — Before You Quit

  • Plan a communications strategy.  It is critical you manage how the news of your departure will permeate the organization.  Some people you will want to tell in person.  Always consider the impact of your departure on others:
    • Your boss
    • Your peers
    • Your mentor, someone you might have a special relationship with.
    • Prepare your “story” and stick to it.  You cannot tell your boss you are leaving for a better opportunity, and tell everyone else you’re leaving because you hate your boss.  You need to pick a story, and stick to it.
    • Manage the grapevine.  The best way to quit your job is to control as much of the grapevine as you can.  Do not leak information to anyone in advance, and proactively manage how the news is distributed.
    • Give appropriate notice.  Often two weeks is not enough time for an employer to replace you and transition your work.  You need to ensure you have provided enough notice to minimize the hardship for your organization and your peers.
    • Prepare for the possibility of a counter-offer.  The organization may provide you with an opportunity that tempts you to stay.  If you’ve already accepted a position with another company, it makes any counter-offer complicated.  Make sure you have considered this possibility in advance.

The Best Way to Quit Your Job — Doing the Deed

  • Plan what you’re going to say, and keep it short.  You should not defend or over-explain you reasons for leaving.  Simply tell the recipient of the news that you intend to leave on a certain date for a simple reason.
  • It is not a forum to air your grievances.  The best way to quit your job is to say positive and supporting things during the meeting.  Any disagreements or problems you had with your boss or your employer are no longer relevant once you choose to submit your notice.
  • Be prepared to be escorted off site.  Some employers will require you to leave site immediately upon the submission of your notice.  Do not take it personally, and be prepared in advance:
    • Remove your personal effects prior to submitting your notice.  This may be tricky to do without revealing your intent.
    • Back up your contacts, or other information you want in advance of the meeting.  You may not have computer access after you have submit your notice.

The Best Way to Quit Your Job — During the Transition Period

  • Try to close out your work without creating a problem for others.
  • Keep any negativity in check.  You will be leaving shortly – there is no advantage to badmouthing the employer, or embellishing your reasons for leaving with your peers.
  • Collect future references.  You never know when you will need a reference from a former boss or a peer.  Cultivating these references during the transitionary period will serve you well.
  • You may want to consider a personal note to important peers, or perhaps a former boss.
  • Treat exit interviews with care.  You must assume that everything you say in an exit interview will be revealed to any targets of your criticism.  No promise of confidentiality should be entirely believed.

The Best Way to Quit Your Job — After Quitting

  • Cultivate alumni relationships.  Make the attempt to keep up with people from your former employer.  This will serve you well professionally and personally.
  • Maintain networks where you can.  Networks are powerful things, and may new employment opportunities do not work out – in which case, you will be tapping into you network again quickly.
  • Don’t bad-mouth the employer.  You must assume that your comments will always get back, and as such, your mother was right:  “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
  • Be available for an occasional question from your replacement.  You can elevate your credibility considerably by being available to the organization, and specifically for your replacement to follow up on some of your previous work.

3 Things to Remember About The Best Way To Quit Your Job:

  1. You need to have a well thought-out plan.  You don’t want to improvise this important part of career management.
  2. It is in your best interest to leave “well”.  You never know when you will run across people again, and you want them to speak well of you.
  3. Stick to your story.  You need to have a departure “script”, and stick to that script regardless of who you are speaking with.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about The Best Way to Quit Your Job (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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