intake.insidedge.net

Four months ago, I made the decision to leave my employer and accept my current position with Insidedge.   It was my first such departure and while I was excited about my new job, I was a bit nervous about how my (soon to be former) employer would react to the news.  Turns out, I had nothing to worry about – although everyone acted disappointed enough to make me feel that I had been a valued team member, they also acknowledged that this was a great opportunity and that I had valid reasons for making the change.

So, end of story, right?  Well, it might have been.  Except a little more than two months after starting at Insidedge, I found myself working on a joint project with my old firm…more specifically, my old group.   A big, important project.   What might have been an awkward situation or worse, ended up being a great experience where believe I actually used my past and new relationships for the benefit of the client.

We’ve probably all heard this at one time or another – “Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down.”   The sentiment rings true to me, but I think it has broader implications – be nice on your way up, down, right or left.   The world is small.  People you meet at the start of your career may end up being your partners at the end of it.

So, when you have employees leaving because they’re accepting a new position or taking some time off, do what you can to provide them with a smooth transition period.   It’s harder but maybe even more important for employees let go because of budget cuts or staff reductions.   Let them leave with their heads held high and feeling like all the work they’ve done was appreciated.  It’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business.  You can bet that long after they’re gone, they’ll still be talking about your company and their time working for it.  First impressions matter, but so do last ones.  Make yours a good one, because you just never know!

Tags: employees, layoffs, new employees, Reputation

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm and is filed under employee communications reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.