Resignation letter (was Re: [SunRescue] The Question.)

[Harry Regan]

>From a business perspective, a technology company that expects or requests a
terminating employee to stick around for two to four weeks is begging for
trouble.  If he's being let go by the company, you really want him out of the
workplace quickly to minimize activities caused by anger, etc.  In an IT
environment-- especially in a sys admin capacity-- there is a lot of
opportunity for the terminated employee to access and possibly damage
sensitive company files, prospect lists, and other intellectual property.  

If the employee has resigned and is leaving voluntarily, I still say get him
the hell out of there!  Morale can be damaged, the guy won't be very
productive, and do you really want the guy who just-found-something-better
training his replacement?  Even if he's going to a direct competitor, I'm not
aware of any regulation that *requires* the employee to say where they are
going.  I also suggest not burning bridges.  Citing reasons like "better
opportunity", "more in line with my career goals", "better overall package"
are nice, nebulous things you can say in the resignation letter.  Don't say
"the executive staff are all feces-throwing howler monkeys" or "I don't think
any of the sales staff had ever used chairs before they came here".  That puts
the recipient on the defensive and you may meet that guy again one or two jobs
later...  

I used to work for a big financial services company that decided to outsource
their IT operations and development to a big integrator.  How do you announce
that?  Well, they held an all-hands meeting, bussed the effected staff to a
Marriott.  Put them in a big room with an open bar.  Got 'em liquered up, told
them they were being outsourced...  and bussed them back to the office.  Yes,
all the admins-- drunk and upset, back at their desks.  Smart, really
smart...

>From a human perspective, I am amazed by companies that fire people on
Fridays.  That gives them a whole weekend to brood about the situation but not
be able to *do* anything about it.  You end up with one pissed off puppy come
Monday morning.  If you're going to can him, do it early in the week so he can
start planning where to go next immediately.  If he's instantly free to look
for another job/contract that afternoon, that night or the next morning,
there's less opportunity for "mischief". 

Lastly, there is a lot that passes for "aggressive management" that is really
"poor planning".  Like when the CFO wakes up one morning and says, "Hey, our
SEC filing says we have 85 employees.  But our payroll system shows 127...". 
Let's just hope it's a Monday...

___________________________________________________________________ 
---- Harry J. Regan
---- Phone: 202.310.2719 
---- FAX: 212.202.3923
---- harry.regan at usa.net 
---- hregan at lepus.com


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