You’ve done it. You have finally recruited the perfect candidate, and you’re ready to hire. Before you can move on to the next step, you have to make sure your new hire ties up loose ends and his or her former job. This is as important for your company as it is for the new hire. Don’t take any shortcuts and assume everything will be fine. Doing that risks burning bridges between you and other companies in your sector. You don’t want someone to feel that you are “stealing” an employee! And if you’re a recruiter for a staffing or hiring firm, you are the go-to person for workers and client companies alike. On behalf of everyone involved, you want to make sure that the person leaving a job does so gracefully.
Resign formally
Especially if you’ve hired a younger candidate, you might be asked to provide counsel on the resignation letter. This is a big step that’s easy to botch if you aren’t careful. This doesn’t have to be a long letter; it shouldn’t go over a single page. A good resignation letter format is simple and uncluttered. A resignation letter should be short and sweet–but not too sweet. By that we mean don’t go over the top. Saying, “I have really appreciated my time at Company X because of (reasons),” is a good thing to include. It sounds genuine. On the flip side, something like, “Company X changed my life forever and I’ll never be the same,” could be read as a bit much. After all, why would an employee leave a job like that?
What does the letter need to say about why the employee is resigning? Not a lot, really. The standard, “I’m leaving to pursue other opportunities,” is perfectly fine. Too much detail may open up questions that are hard to answer answer. “I’m seeking a better work environment,” will likely prompt questions and perhaps even infer that your company is trash-talking theirs. “I don’t feel challenged,” can be read as an insult to the other company as well. The boss may ask your recruit a couple of questions. That’s normal and to be expected, but encourage your new recruit to give concise but diplomatic answers if he or she simply doesn’t feel like giving out a lot of information.
Stay focused
You and the new employee may both be ready to get to work, but you need to make sure that you’re both doing everything by the book. This is really important if you work for a staffing agency and the company is one of your clients. Two weeks notice is pretty standard, but advise your new hire to review the initial job paperwork, just in case it requires a longer period of notice. But two weeks allows the other employer to start the process of rehiring. Some people try to give three or four weeks notice “to be nice,” only to find that the work environment quickly becomes awkward. There will be some awkwardness anyway, but short-term awkwardness is more bearable. If you work for a staffing agency, you already know this: following the staffing industry news can be a great way to keep yourself up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices for navigating these kinds of scenarios and advising your new hire.
Tell them to give it their all during those last two weeks. He or she will want to be able to leave their company knowing he or she really gave them the best. If you both walk the path carefully and act with class and good etiquette, you’ll help your new hire maintain a good reputation, and you will continue to foster a healthy relationship with your client.
