Letting people go has to be one of the hardest decisions a leader has to make. It’s usually the last resort after other cost cuts have been made and it can be highly emotional and confronting for the leader and the person affected. As a result, leaders look to their people team for support, find a standard process to follow.... and there is your experience.

We can do better than this.

With something that is highly emotive, we can’t meet it with an experience that feels un-considered or without human touch. Why wait to the point that you need to lay people off to determine their offboarding experience? How might we intentionally design the offboarding experience for people in a range of scenarios BEFORE they get to this point? Some of these scenarios may include a long service employee deciding to retire, a junior staff member taking the next big step in their career, a new parent choosing not to return after parental leave, and so on.

First off, why invest in your offboarding experience?

A well-designed offboarding experience allows for stronger security of data, supports your brand, and ensures strong relationships for possible future exchanges. Former employees can connect you to other great hires or could be clients in the future. New Zealand is a small place!

A person leaving, whether on their terms or the organisations, impacts team culture and dynamics. A positive, considered exit shows the leaving and remaining employees that they’re cared for and valued.

Map the experience

Understanding the moments that matter is key to making people feel cared for when leaving. Mapping the current offboarding experience end-to-end allows us to see where there may be holes in the experience or where things can be elevated. We can also map the desired experience as a north star to work towards, considering:  

·     Where are the moments that matter?

·     How do people feel at each point?

·     What support do they need?

·     Can we simplify process and automate steps?  

Use co-design mindsets and methods 

Co-design by definition involves the people that will use or experience what is being designed within the design process to co-create better outcomes.

Adopting mindsets of co-design allows us to think about the experience through other people’s perspectives. We’re not looking to best practice or what is standard, we’re taking a design approach that considers and involves the people it impacts.

In terms of using co-design methods, we would never want to instil unnecessary fear for job safety so we would need to make appropriate decisions about who to involve and for what leaving scenarios. However, get into a room together using practical co-design activities to and answer some of these big questions:

·     How do we want our people to remember us or talk about us?

·     What does each leaving scenario look like at ourorganisation?

·     What can we remove to make it smoother or add to enhance the experience?

·     Consider your organisations culture and values- what makes your organisation special?

We know with the peak-end rule, people remember an experience based of the peak of it and the end of it, so how might we consciously design the last memory they will have of your organisation so that it benefits your leaving employee and your organisation.

Why wait till the last resort to design your offboarding experience. Not only will it better equip your leaders to support people through the offboarding experience, those leaving will have and positive memorable end experience.

If you would like to design your offboarding experience with intention, reach out! We would love to help.

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(Image by gpointstudio on Freepik)