10 Steps To Make Your Exit Process Smoother

It’s often a difficult decision to exit the organization you have been working for and if you happen to be working for a long time, it’s even more difficult with memories and emotions involved.

If you have reached that stage where you are ready to exit (have resigned or are about to) then first of all congratulations. You now know that it takes a lot of effort to start looking for a change, preparing for it between the everyday work, and finally securing a worthwhile offer.

While you are looking forward to your new job and patiently waiting for it, you also want to leave your current organization in an amicable manner. It’s even important for those who have spent a considerable part of their career in an organization and have made friends beyond work.

You don’t want to leave your organization in a lurch, you want to help them out with an easy transition and proper replacement. However, often the organizations are not that well organized and don’t have proper processes in place and you might find yourself in a situation where you get frustrated or your relieving is delayed.

So how can you make exit smoother for yourself and your organization? Here are some tips that can help you when you decide to move out:

1. Inform Officially:- When you decide to leave then it’s important to send an official mail to that effect. Your notice period shall start from the day when the official notice of your resignation has been received by the company. Having a verbal discussion with your manager/lead or HR before the resignation mail is good nevertheless don’t substitute it for a written notice of resignation. Make sure you include all the relevant people in the resignation email (e.g. lead, manager, HR, etc.).
2. Keep it Courteous and Civil:- You can search for resignation templates online but do customize them to suit your needs, some text from those templates might not work in your case, and in some case you might want to personalize it genuinely (by thanking the relevant colleagues who have helped you in your journey within the organization). Even if you are unhappy about the reason you have to leave or have grievances, still keep the language of the resignation notice courteous. Try to offer genuine reasons for leaving (as far as possible). Offer all the support during the transition phase and any other help that will smoothen things for the organization.
3. Get the LWD:- After floating the resignation mail, be sure to get a written confirmation from the relevant authority (Manager, HR) about your last working day (LWD). Don’t simply assume your LWD based on your offer letter. You might want an early relieving or the organization might need your help for an additional week or two. So it’s better to have a candid discussion and get a ‘written‘ confirmation on the LWD. Often, this becomes a contentious point in many exits.
4. Knowledge Transfer:- This is often taken lightly by most organizations and teams. However, be honest in the KT process, if you are not assigned a person to whom KT should be done, ask for it multiple times in written communication. Prepare a KT plan, run it by your Manager get a sign-off and start the KT. In-between try to gauge if the colleague taking the KT is really getting the hang of things or not. Give him some real problems, requirements that you work on regularly and gauge his response. At the end of the KT period, communicate the conclusion of KT and get a confirmation from the colleague to whom KT is done. Always keep in mind you are preparing an equal replacement for yourself, so that your project, team, and the company don’t struggle after you are gone.
5. Documentation:- It’s always good to document all the things that you deem important. Often the projects in companies are not well documented due to the dearth of time. Use the notice period to document the history, current issues, stakeholders, code, important credentials, access info, etc. about the project. Provide the location of such documentation over email to multiple team members. In your absence, if someone needs some info they shouldn’t struggle to get it.
6. Checkpoints:- Create multiple checkpoints to often check in between your notice period with your manager, HR, etc. to ascertain that you are on the right track and in case they want anything else to be handled during the notice period. This way surprises can be avoided at the time of exit.
7. Client Communication:- If you are directly working with a client or external vendor or a third party, consult with your Manager on how the communication about your exit should be done. Ideally, it should be done by your lead or Manager, and post that you should try to involve your colleague who is to replace you and/or your Manager in all the conversations you have with external parties. In this duration, do not take any decisions that will have long-term repercussions, defer such decisions to your Lead or Manager.
8. Exit Process Pre-Requisites:- Get a know-how of the exit process, what all you will need to do in the last few days. Things like NOC, authorization, asset submission, exit interviews, etc. could take a long time. Make sure you have all such knowledge and readiness so that the exit process moves smoothly in the last few days.
9. Ask Questions:- Make sure you get clarity on all the items that you might require after relieving, e.g. relieving letter, PF transfer, Full and Final Payment, experience certificate, Gratuity, etc. Make a list of questions well in advance and try to get answers whenever you can from relevant authorities. Don’t wait till the last day to get all these answers.
10. Gratitude:- If you have been in an organization for 3 months or 30 years, there are always people who have helped you in making your journey easier and helping you at different times. Express gratitude to them personally or through email. You are leaving the organization and not the people with whom you worked and shared the highs and lows. Keep the connect with the people while you disconnect with the organization.

Do you think anything else can help you with the exit process? How has been your exit process in your previous companies? Do share with us all in the comments section.