As a contract manager you are happy when there is harmony and effective collaboration within the team you hired. You smile more when they show cooperation beyond your expectations and what comes in your mind is obviously that dream to see the team beating the deadline and place yourself a top performance banner. But as you shut down your computer your star team leader knocks the door, you let him in and as he closes the door, he utters that dreaded phrase: ” I have a word I need to share with you.”
You will first breath in and out before you hear what he says, but in the real sense you may be weighing your options he may be resigning or he may have good news for you and unfortunately he says “I want want to hand in my resignation”.
What project managers should understand is that it is important to be generous about employee departures though it’s painful especially when he was a star to the team and when he used to bring brilliant ideas on board.
When an employee leaves in the midst of a project you may feel he has gone with the institutional knowledge that they have acquired during their time with you. And departures run the risk of causing morale issues on teams that become stretched or who are simply sad to lose a cherished team member.
But after his departure as the contractor you need to use your leadership skills to mitigate the potential problems that may face the project and mostly focus on the following practical steps.
Listen
You need to listen carefully and learn in between his lines, know the main reasons why he is leaving so that you can learn to keep the next employee coming on site and avoid embarrassment. You need to hear carefully if they are really leaving in search of more desirable compensation package, you may ask yourself whether your company’s value proposition is competitive. If the decision is driven by a growth opportunity, examine whether you’re neglecting to provide growth opportunities within your organization–or are simply unable to do so.
Control your reaction.
It’s hard for many managers but in this case it’s very important since you have been with the employee for some years. If you respond with anger or accusation, your employee will not only leave on an unhappy note, but will also be less likely to make useful contributions during the final stage with you. You need to apply some humor to show him he was an asset to the company and this may keep him thinking otherwise or remain your friend even after his departure.
Think of what next and be inclusive
Talk with the departing employee so that you can see how to break out the news to the rest of the team and also with the clients who had become his friends on the site. Try your best to break the news before his departure so that the rest of the remaining team can see his departure was cooperated and was in a good way.
Tell their success to the rest
Take some little time to celebrate the outgoing employee and tell the rest of the team how he used to be and what he achieved while in the company, this will see the rest of the team motivated to leave a good image and also some success rate that will be told when they leave the company.
When talking of his success it’s highly advisable to carry this out in a dinner out or some casual lunch on the site with some champagne to show him some love and make him miss you when he leaves.
Wish the employee well
In many situations managers forget to wish their employees well but it’s one of the fundamental things you should carry out, so that he feels the company want him to succeed in every day activity.
