Retire Gracefully

When it is time to move out and exit from a company, please do it gracefully. There may be many reasons for a person to resign, but breaking the news is never easy. The first step is realize and accept the fact that the event is inevitable, and secondly, it should be realizes that it is rarely a stress free situation.

The followings are the tips to leave your organisation professionally:

1. Resign for the right reasons. It is important to consider all the options. The worst is to decide based on emotion or just because you have a bad days or weeks. Think through the reasons and if necessary, write yourself an explanation letter, why you have to resign. It is not easy to pull your resignation back.

2. It is a small world. Do realize that, there is always a chance that you will meet the same people at the other jobs location. It is possible that your present colleagues can be your future bosses, and even the people below you can be your superior.

Always threat your subordinate with respect as they can be your future bosses. If you want to share your frustration, venting your anger, think again as it can have a damaging consequences.

3. Timing is critical. The timing is important for both the organisation and the staff. The company needs to ensure that its operations are nor affected by your leaving. As such, they will require time to plan for the response. It is a mistake to select a time just to create inconveniences for the organisation.

4. The resignation letter. It is the formal document to record your intention. It is normally handed after the resignation meeting with the bosses. The letter should be formal and short, straight to the point. It should cover issues such as the last day at work, any outstanding monetary issues and matters relating to annual leave.

It may not seem important, but to retire gracefully does make sense, never burn the bridge after you have crossed it, you my need it later.

why staff resign

.. extracted from thestar on 5 April 2012)...

If you are running an organisation, staff retention is a critical issue. If there is a trend of resignation, for example, the average length of services for a given position is low, then, it is a good idea to recheck the management style.

While there are many factors that affect why staff resign, the research by the writer came to conclusion that people actually quit their bosses not the job. The exist interview, formal or informal, may not reveal the whole truth. Most people will conceal the truth, as it can be hurtful or damaging.

The followings are some of the quoted factors why people left...

a. Managing style and skills.

While the term managing be can a generic and encompassing word, we can start to view it using the Henry Fayol's words of Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. It is difficult to work with bosses who give unclear instruction or working with multiple organisation structures, both formal and informal. You may come across bosses who will blame the staff for any mistakes while they want to take credits for all the successes.

b. Micro- manage

The bosses may be doing this because they do not trust the staff or probably they do not know a better way to manage. The intervention can be frustrating and after a number of occurrences, the staff may withdraw and leave it to the bosses. You may see some bosses may transgress a couple of levels to "manage the roots of the problems".

c.Hidden agenda

Works or jobs can be viewed in a number of perspectives. When the level of trust is low, the staff may start to question the intents of a certain plans or project. They doubt the sincerity especially when there appear to be disparity of words, actions and attentions. The best way to overcome this problem is to be transparent in the way they relate to the staff.

d. Not delivering promise

It can be at different levels. On personal level, it can a simple promise to pay the salary on time. In fact, this is the basic of the contract of employment. If it is broken, it speaks volume of the integrity of organisation. On the tasks or assignment level, it can the assignment of resources to fulfill the critical mission for the organisation.

While the above are some of the reasons why staff resign, there may be other push and pull factors. The younger generation may like to venture for experiences and opportunities and the elders will be looking for serenity and meanings.

Quality of Good Leaders

In a recent survey, among the top three reasons why people choose to stay in an organization is the quality of the leaders. When asked further, what are the characteristics of a good leader that you prefer to work for?. These are their answers.

a. Open mind and good listeners.

Being a good listeners alone is not enough, what is needed is the willingness to consider the feedback. This will encourage people to speak without fear. It helps the leaders to identify the blind spots which, if ignored, can be detrimental to the organisation.

b. Being Objective and Impartial.

This is one action that can spoil the other good things a leader had done. Being objective are required in the decisions of the leaders. There should be a hidden agenda or what appear to be favoring a certain people.

c. The leaders have to have the competency and the desire to achieve.

The basic element of willing and able to do always discussed in management. To gain respect, a leader had to show that he has the knowledge and skill in the area he is entrusted, and on top of that he need to display his readiness to work to achieve the desired goals.

While leadership quality to steer the organistion to achieve their objective is important, the ability to develop oneself is also strongly seeked upon by the staff. It is rare to find staff who do not like to see himself develop. As such, many of the workers now will be looking for the opportunities to retool and develop himself, especially if you are still young and can look up to bigger and meaningful future.