Sudden Employee Departures: Covering Your Bases

Of course we all hope that our employees are with us for the long haul but sometimes we learn that the person who was once full of potential and promise is no longer a fit and the inevitable must ensue – you need to let them go. Or worse, they quit unexpectedly. It’s never easy to have a sudden change transpire in the office, but to help ease the pain, it’s important to have a good plan in place that not only ensures that your business will continue to run smoothly, but will also allow you to breathe again. Here is a list of tips to put into place NOW to avoid a major bind in your office:

• Cross Train Your Employees: Everyone should be cross trained so that workflow and projects can be picked up where they were left off with ease, and the business can continue to hum along.
• Username and Passwords: Make sure your usernames and passwords for everything including Facebook, Twitter, your website, etc. are saved in a place that is accessible to everyone so you don’t lose access to any account or online service along with your employee. Determine what access the employee had with other passwords in the company and change those immediately as well.
• Departing Employee Checklist: Create a departing employee checklist that is all encompassing and includes everything from their final interview and paycheck to what happens internally once they are gone. For example, making sure that remote access is removed or Word documents and files are archived.
• Email: Immediately change the password to keep access to the employee’s email account in case emails need to be found and forwarded to a designated person or archived.
• Staff Meeting: Call a staff meeting the same day and let everyone know the person is no longer there and what the next steps are. This is also an opportunity to gauge how everyone is feeling about the sudden departure.
• Don’t Panic and Hire Too Soon:  Of course you want to fill that position and workload as soon as possible but it’s best to take your time and make sure that who you are hiring is the best qualified candidate to avoid this happening all over again. As we like to say here, “hire slow and fire fast.”

It’s never easy to let an employee go or watch them quit suddenly but hopefully by following these tips you can put your mind at ease by preparing for an unexpected change.

Kelly Murphy
Practice Building Consultant
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com