Employee Resigns Within a Week: How to Handle Exit Formalities When They're Unreachable?

One of our employees has resigned from his job within a week of joining. He has just sent an email stating that he is resigning due to personal reasons. Now, my management wants to address his concerns and have him come in person to complete his exit formalities. I am unable to reach him via mobile, and my seniors have asked me to draft an official email to him. Kindly assist with any preferred formats.

Regards,
Divya

Hi Divya, it is very essential to have communicated and clarified. However, it is very common for people to abscond if they do not find the culture or work as per the promised criteria. The person worked only for a week, and before he stopped coming to the office, he informed the authorities via email that he is resigning. We can't mark him as absconding. You can send an email for formalities and to close the matter, but do not waste much time after this trivial issue.

Thanks, Ankita. I intended to do that. Firstly, my management wants to understand the discomforts that have prompted the employee to resign from his job. I need to draft an email asking him to come in person and share his issues with us. This could help us address his concerns and potentially retain him. Please assist me with any prescribed formats you may have.

Thanks, Ankita. I intended to do that. Firstly, my management wants to understand the discomforts that have prompted the employee to resign from his job. I need to draft an email asking him to come in person and share his issues with us, which could be addressed and help us in retaining him. Please help me with any prescribed formats.

To be honest, I doubt if he would be willing to come back to discuss.

What you can do is propose to him to take his salary due for the week's work he did. Draft a cheque for the due amount. Tell him what amount is due to him and inform him that even if it might be a meager amount, it is hard-earned by him and that he should take it. Tell him that you would appreciate it if he could personally come to collect the cheque. In such a case, you can also give him a relieving and experience letter for that said period, which he can use as a week's training for future employment.

If he comes, be very casual and ask him if there are any suggestions that he thinks you should incorporate so that people do not leave within a very brief period, say 10-15 days. Do not ask what bothered him and why he resigned because he already mentioned that he resigned for personal reasons. If you force him to tell, he will not speak the truth. Instead, give him a completely fictional situation that might give us some hints.

Hope this helps.

Can you clarify why you wouldn't be able to release his pay? He worked for a week and is entitled to receive payment for it. Additionally, the payment will only be released if he comes in person to collect it.

Management's Intention

In fact, let me ask you this now: What is the management's intention in calling him back to discuss? Why do you want to settle things when the duration of employment was only one week? If you can clarify, we can discuss this matter more effectively.

Understanding the Resignation Factors

Management wants to understand the factors that have prompted him to resign and could try redressing them or implementing corrective measures to avoid such circumstances in the future.

Concerns About Employment Opportunity

Since he has resigned within a week's time, they feel that the employment opportunity given, with a mutual growth perspective, has been misused. Thus, they are not willing to release his pay for the period he worked with us.

Kindly advise on how to proceed further.

Ankita has suggested to you rightly. As regards the INTENT of your management, they seem to "want the cake & eat it also." They want to get the ex-employee's feedback to correct systems/processes (which is good & fine) AND YET not give his dues. How much would the 1 week's salary come to? A few hundreds or a couple of thousands? Would that amount be a BIG one for the company? What IF the guy's feedback results in a REAL BIG input for the management for the betterment of the company? They seem to want FREE ADVICE? Not fair, I guess.

Regards,
TS

Firstly, management wants to understand the factors that have prompted him to resign and could try redressing it or taking corrective measures to avoid such circumstances in the future. Secondly, since he has resigned within a week's time, they feel that the employment opportunity given on a mutual growth perspective has been misused and thus are not willing to release his pay for the period he worked with us. Kindly advise on how to proceed further...

Honestly, getting feedback from our employees so that we can improve is a very nice idea. I support you for that. But have you heard of "There's a deal for everything."

Suppose I am that person who left the firm in a week's time. You are asking me to come to your office to discuss what made me resign in a week's time. Your motive is to get feedback from me so that you can try to rectify if there is an error at your end (i.e., the company is at fault) or if YOU (as in the management) THINK the matter is trivial, convince me to join you back.

Please note that if an employee has resigned, he would not be willing to come back to the company to meet you and give you feedback. He is not reachable on the call, proving this. Another thing, if he is coming down to meet you, you would get feedback, you may improve for the future - all this is your benefit. What about him? He would waste his precious time (which he may very well use to go and give somewhere an interview) so that you can benefit at his own personal loss which you don't even wish to consider?

As said by Tajsateesh sir, a few hundreds or a couple of thousands can't put a big hole in the pockets of the company. And if they are so concerned about the money flowing out, better drop the idea of chasing him and getting feedback. We cannot force anyone to work for us, neither can we kidnap someone and force them to open up and say what made them resign. When I resigned from my last employer, I said I wish to resign for a personal reason and though they tried to probe me to know the actual cause, I didn't share because I didn't trust that they'd relieve me if they got to know the truth. However, to me, relieving didn't matter much, since my new employer wasn't fussy about it. But I didn't want the absconding title and then fight to get the letter and other hassle.

If the company wants feedback, the company should consider the time and effort a person would put in to give one. And it is not necessary that you'd get an honest feedback when you are seeking one. But at least this gesture would give you positive word-of-mouth advertisement from him. Perhaps he didn't like the way things were working at your firm, but with this, he will have the benefit of doubt that perhaps the company was not fully at fault, there was some mismatch in the expectation and reality on his end as well.

Further, it is your decision completely. But in my opinion, if you are not planning to compensate him for the tenure he served, don't call him for the feedback also. Let him go and have his own life.

In this case, he has submitted his resignation, stating that he is resigning from his position. You should not consider him as absconding. Please send an email instructing him to adhere to the notice period as per the company policy, or else remove him from the headcount under the category of Resigned.

As Ankitha mentioned, do not prolong the process as it will only result in wasting your time.

Thank you.