How Can We Prevent Sudden Employee Exits and Ensure Professionalism in Notice Periods?

Scenario Overview

I am working in an IT firm ("ABC") as an HR personnel. One of the permanent employees of ABC submitted his resignation as he received a better opportunity in another location. According to the process, he was required to serve a 60-day notice period at ABC, but he requested to be allowed to leave in 30 days. Due to major dependencies, after discussing with the project manager, I advised him to line up his project as he held a significant role in that project. He agreed to my suggestion and continued with the notice period. However, after serving 20 days of the notice period, he suddenly did not come to the office and switched off his phone. We attempted all possible ways to reach out to him, but our efforts were in vain. He also did not delegate the project code to the Team Lead. After trying for 10 days, one day, out of fear of legal actions, he called and delegated all the codes, but it was still very challenging to reshape the project.

Key Discussion Point

The key point for discussion here is that I do not want anyone else to follow the same path. Therefore, please suggest actions I can take to make him aware of professionalism and to make others aware of the policies.

Thank you.

This is one of the downsides of the current 'absconding' mentality of many employees, especially in the IT sector. Your query has two parts: (1) ensuring the employees adhere to the Notice Period norms, and (2) ensuring the work is not unduly affected in case the employee leaves earlier, whatever the modus operandi.

Addressing Part (2) First

Let's accept one reality here. Most companies in the IT sector want employees to join as soon as possible when it comes to them, but loathe to relieve them earlier. I am not sure to what extent your company agrees to wait for any joinee to complete his/her notice period before joining you, but many, if not most, IT companies don't. Without even realizing it, the mental/psychological foundation has already been laid even before the employee joins you. Invariably, the unwritten message that goes across to the individual is 'it's OK to vanish if it suits you.' Just see the many threads in citeHR.

Action Point-1

Suggest planning things better to ensure that the waiting time while the joinee completes his/her notice period in the earlier company is factored into your hiring process. This is surely not just related to the HR Department; a lot of involvement will have to be from the technical/project teams, since it's they who will be finally affected. 'Just-in-time' hiring is all fine in concept, but unless such factors are taken into account, it's also a surefire strategy to encounter the situations you are now facing.

Action Point-2

Though I can't really generalize this, many IT companies begin the handing-over process (KT) almost at the fag end of the notice period. I have known cases when even the identification of the alternate employee who will take over wasn't done until a week before the notice period completion, and then the employee is asked to stay back for another week or so. I also know of extreme cases when more projects were assigned during the notice period. The only way to handle a situation where the work is not affected if an employee vanishes midway through the notice period is to begin planning the KT within a few days after resignation acceptance, presuming the acceptance is within a few days of resigning. Here again, I know of cases where the acceptance wasn't given until midway of the notice period, whereby the employee is thoroughly disenchanted and frustrated. What interest can one expect from such an employee who begins to feel that he/she is being put/hung on a thread? In the long run, it's the company that will suffer, as the KT is done more for the sake of doing than otherwise.

However, this is not to say that there won't be any smart alecks who think they can get away by absconding despite the most professional treatment by the company; there surely will be now and then. You have to expect them, but more as an exception than as a rule. This is where HR has to lay down the ground rules immediately after the resignation, during the usual brain-washing sessions that happen after a resignation.

This is easier for an IT company since source codes, etc., are involved that can lead to legal tangles for the company and the employee if he acts funny. During this meeting, it's always better to lay down the broad timelines for the relieving process vis-a-vis the stages in the process like identification of the taking-over person, KT, etc., which means all the steps have to be thought out earlier by HR and the technical leads/bosses. That would ensure both the company and the employee are clear about the process and timelines, and more importantly, the employee also gets to know what can happen if he breaks the rules of this game in his/her last lap with this company.

Coming to Part (1) of Your Query

This essentially is a culmination of the effects of the process implementation of Part-2. It would take some time, but as long as any employee knows that the whole process is fair and transparent and what would happen if any tricks are tried, people are more than likely to get into the groove.

All the best.

Regards, TS