How Important Is It for Companies to Give Employees a Respectful Farewell? Let's Discuss!

How relevant and advantageous is it for an organization to see off its employees in a respectable manner?

Most of us leave without being acknowledged for our contributions. Some are lucky to get a send-off party or email messages. Maybe we were quite senior in position or maybe we were some of management's favorites.

Irrespective of the status or contribution, one should receive an acknowledgment of their services to the organization - however small that period of working was. That is not only to make that person feel appreciated but also for the others who are not leaving. The latter would feel safe and secure in a way that could be due to the expectations that one has for a situation when they themselves will be leaving.

From management's perspective, this could incur a cost - a cost in terms of money as well as a cost in terms of all other employees coming to know (clearly) that a person (one more person?) is leaving the organization.

What should be the management's view on this? And should this view change according to industry types (e.g., BPOs which are always hiring and firing vs. education which is more stable) and/or size of the organization?

Any views?

Hi,

The send-off party depends on various factors like the type of organization (service sector, manufacturing, or IT), length of the service of the employee, employee turnover in the organization, and, most importantly, budget.

You have to frame an informal proposal and post it to management. If they like it, they will encourage the activity; otherwise, they may ask for some modifications. (By the way, I received a personal send-off party from my department when I left my last company.)

Siddharth

In my opinion, any employee, whether they just attend an interview in your organization or work for some time, is the brand ambassador of the company. I have heard that Philips has a dedicated HR department that takes care of potential candidates from the interview call to the exit interviews. I see many organizations don't have exit interviews, and they don't care much for outgoing employees. Brand ambassadors are what I call word-of-mouth too.

Regards, Avin Soft Skill Trainer/Facilitator

Any comments?

Additionally, organizations that do not have any employee representatives or strong HR departments suffer from these issues.

After reading the comments, two points emerge:

1. The time period of stay of an employee, and
2. No formal policy doesn't necessarily mean a farewell send-off cannot be arranged.

The management should make it clear that after how much contribution (in terms of time), an employee is worth a "formal goodbye." Here is another catch... organizations can be very quality-conscious (having ISO 9000, etc.) and still not possess any concrete HR policy. Maybe ISO people do not consider internal people as customers. :)

Secondly, my concern that one should receive recognition after completing some years, whether or not management cares for it, is addressed by the idea of colleagues taking the initiative for a change and throwing a small party for the employee who will no longer be coming to the office. This action gives relief to management's worries about taking care of every departing employee.

If they do not consider employees as brand ambassadors, at least we can do so.

Thanks for your views...

Take care

I agree with Alwar, Ravi, and Seema.

Even if there is no company policy, one can always arrange a private farewell through contributions. Good companies, irrespective of sectors, should have a provision, including expenses based on the level of the person for a farewell get-together. One can have certain criteria like the length of service (at least two years); the number of persons who should attend, etc.

If we consider employees as Brand Ambassadors, then they are supposed to create goodwill for the company when they leave, and a warm send-off fits the bill perfectly. Even if an employee has resigned after certain differences, these get-togethers remove the feeling of hurt; and all the good words spoken about the ex-employee make him feel good about the company.

Warm regards.