The employee separation process starts from the time the employee gives notice to his or her employer about the intention to quit. This is usually called “putting in one’s papers”.  Once an employee gives notice, all financial transactions and records of the employee are “frozen” by the HR department.  The employee’s manager is assigned with the task of ensuring that a proper handover and closure of work is performed by the employee. A well defined plan needs to be drawn up by the manager, to ensure that work is handed over smoothly to another employee and that there are no disruptions in the leaving employee’s tasks. A notice period ranges from a month to three months, depending on the seniority of the employee.  

In order to ensure that the attrition process goes smoothly, the following are some tips to be followed by the management of an organization

• Talk to the employee and find out his or her reasons for leaving.  This chat can be done by the management and by the employee’s peers
• It would probably be a good idea to conduct a survey along the following lines

• Which managers are best at holding onto their staff?
• Which managers have a poor track record?
• What is the age range of the leavers?
• What was their length of service?
• Do certain roles, locations or functions have a higher turnover than the other departments?
  
  

• If there is some learning to be gained from this attrition and if the reasons for leaving can be converted into changes in the processes and in the organization, then it might be a good idea to go ahead and make those changes
• Employee salary and benefits accruing as a result of separation as well as other benefits like PF (Provident Fund), Gratuity (If applicable) etc. should never be held back, as a result of “teaching the resigned employee a lesson” or “just to give them a hard time”
• The values, culture and the brand of the company should always come across in a very positive light, during this entire process.
• If the leaving employee asks for a reference, approach this in a very professional manner. It feels good to help the employee land a job and an employer to find a good worker
• Keep the channels of communication open.  You never know when an employee who is leaving the firm today might want to return at a later date.  If this talent is so good that he or she cannot be lost, then they should be given another opportunity to return to the firm.  They should be able to return to the firm without any awkwardness.  

In recent years, with the high levels of attrition, it has become imperative for firms to have a structured separation plan for orderly exits of employees. In conclusion, employee separations must be handled in a mature manner, without any emotions and drama and though attrition is a fact that concerns everyone in the industry, once an employee decides to leave, the separation must be as smooth as possible.