How to Leave them Happy when you Quit
When you quit your job, you will hopefully have done so by offering the appropriate period of notification. What that leaves you with is a period of time to do everything you can to leave your former employer happy with your output.
Why is this important? For starters, you may need a positive reference from your boss in the future and you don’t want his or her final memory of you to be a negative one. Similarly, you want all your former colleagues to remember you in a positive light, because you never know when you might meet or need them again. Sowhat do you need to do to make sure everyone is happy?
Agree what will get finished before you go
You should agree a schedule of work with your line manager to define what will be completed before you go. This may not be everything that you were working on, as there probably isn’t time. Prioritize the things that you can close off and then agree how far you will complete the other tasks. Make sure you both agree on what ‘complete’ looks like. Document the discussion to ensure that there is no later ambiguity.
Give constructive feedback in your exit interview
Don’t use your exit interview to criticize everyone and moan about everything. Be honest in your feedback, but focus first on the positive and then come up with constructive suggestions about how to improve things that didn’t work so well. Refrain from making comments about anyone personally and always (however you really feel) thank your former boss for the opportunity and time that you spent working with him or her.
Share what you know
Do everything you can in your final weeks to ensure that your knowledge and experience is shared with others. This could include handing tasks and processes over to others, coaching or training with your former team mates or writing processes and operating procedures for more technical tasks. Be generous with your knowledge. You’re leaving anyway so try to prevent that situation where everybody blames things on you once you’re gone.
Return property and assets
Don’t wait for your employers to chase you for company assets. If you have a company mobile phone, laptop or other equipment, ensure that you return it on time. Clear out your desk, drawers, office or cupboard space and leave them clean and tidy so that somebody else can quickly move in. Try and get any outstanding faults fixed before you go so that you don’t hand over faulty equipment. Be professional and do what you can to get things ready for the next time.
Make a parting gesture
It’s always nice to do something generous with your colleagues, as it may be the last thing that they remember about you. Buy your former colleagues cakes or muffins on the last day or invite everybody for a drink. Offer details as to how people can get in touch with you when you are gone and make sure you collect the contact details for those that you might want to speak to. Pay specific attention to the important members of your network, who may continue to be useful to your career after you have moved on.
As tempting as it is to dash out in a blaze of glory, a proper hand over is the professional way to end your relationship with an employer. However great the opportunity is that you are moving on to, you never quite know when you might need or meet people in your last workplace again.
