Notice Period Conundrums

I recently made a job change after nearly 2 decades. It got me thinking about how to go about my resignation, things to do in notice period, etc. I have had the opportunity to witness/negotiate a fair number of separations/retentions in my tenure; some good and some not so good. I am penning down a 10-point fact sheet from personal/second person and idealistic viewpoints purely for reference/discussion purposes.

1.   Deciding to Quit

• Decision Matrix: Carefully weigh your decision to quit – Is it the role/growth/nature of work/manager/location/onsite opportunity/financial/macro considerations or a combination of these. Write down all these parameters and possibly assign a weightage to create a Decision Matrix. The Decision Matrix will give you relative score for each option and help you decide using a quantitative basis over a subjective decision.
• Make sure you have some mentors in the wider professional world and do consult with them on your decision
• Once you have thought this through, carefully weigh whether you will be open to a counter offer from your present employer and what that has to look like. It is perfectly okay not to want a counter offer or not to get one as well ??.

2.   Communicating the Decision:

• First and most important step is to speak to your manager in person/over video call before you send that email/submit in the system
• Align with your manager/management on the nature of communication before you start informing your team/clients. At times, your manager may want to do it in due course, and it is important you give them the window
• Make sure you do formalize the separation discussion over an email/putting paper in the system

3.   Role Transition

• Make a formal transition plan for handover of your responsibilities and get it formally signed off by your manager
• Lead/Complement/Shadow the person(s) who is/are slated to take over your work. Be ready to give space/take a back seat to accommodate the working style of the person taking over. This is also a test of how well you did your succession planning.
• A golden rule I follow is ‘Make yourself redundant in your current role if you want to grow’ (it is a risky one though :D)
• Ensure that you are setting them up for success as their success is also a reflection of your personal credibility/commitment towards work/clients

4.   Weighing the Counter Offer

• If you get a counter offer, weigh it against your original decision expectations and then evaluate. Avoid using the counter offer as a negotiation ploy again with your prospective employer. This may sometimes be a bit grey area but remember that extra 15-20% salary may come at the cost of individual credibility in either organization.
• Always remember this discussion is not about short term gains but about the strategic direction of your long term career.
• If your employer matches your counter offer expectations, then ideally you have to agree to stick with them and politely decline the new offer. Also, you will be happier now that you did not socialize your leaving too much??.

5.   Multiple External Offers

• If you are the smart one who has bagged multiple external offers, go back to the decision matrix as that will help you choose.
• Since you have not done any commitment to the external parties, it is ok to negotiate with them. However, be watchful of the iterations/commitments
• Also, once you have decided, keep the professional courtesy to politely decline the other offers, don’t go missing on them. Karma always comes around ??.

6.   Keeping Professional Conduct

• Please maintain profession conduct throughout the notice period tenure. Remember, your current employer is your pay master till your last working day.
• Completely avoid saying anything negative about your present employer even in those side bar “Chai pe charcha” (water cooler conversations).
• Be courteous and thank your team/colleagues. They were your support till this day.
• Remember to acknowledge & thank your team, peers and managers.

7.   The Exit Interview

• Mostly HR will conduct an exit interview. Time to give some constructive feedback. Again, remain professional and focus on what can/should improve in the company processes as a whole. All feedback should be constructive in nature.

8.   Final Clearance

• Lastly prepare for all exit formalities early, get the checklist/ and work on it early.
• Get all clearances done – Finance, IT, Legal, Compliance, Project, etc.
• Download all pay slips & tax related documents, return all registered assets and make sure your last day is relaxed.
• Also make doubly sure that you are not even accidentally copying and confidential information.

9.   Notice Period Down time

• Most companies do not offer a buyout. If your company does, it’s great. However, still ensure you do proper transition first.
• If you must serve full notice period, then you may find yourself with a good amount of time at hand. Use it to relax, unwind, give that extra time to family, hone your hobby, learn something new that may set you up well for the next job. However, do all this while being available/ensuring a proper transition.

10.  Preparing for new job

• Get your documents in order, for onboarding at next company as well. Don’t want things getting stuck there ??.
• Lastly, read-up about your new company and management, nature of work/clients etc. as much as possible. You can hit the road running in the new role and create a good first impression.

Good luck with your new role with current/prospective employer. You have successfully earned yourself the deserved elevated role/position and time to focus again and take on the new challenge.