When any staff member leaves, it can be a difficult time for a company. If an employee leaves under negative circumstances, it can prove much more a challenge.

In this age of social media, high profile employee exits have the potential to dominate headlines, local and global. And with an increasing number of employees making cases against former employers, businesses need to prepare for resignations.

Preparation, procedures and a willingness to hear feedback can ensure effective employee exit management.

This article will explore the risks involved with an employee’s departure and how businesses can effectively manage both amicable and negative employee exits.
 
Employee Exit Risk: Loss of Talent
Employee departures can be difficult to manage for any company, but particularly for SMEs. With limited resources, this loss of talent can sever an enterprise’s ability to perform.

This can damage its reputation, as a business will struggle to keep up with their workloads for their customers or clients.  
 
Employee Exit Risk: Workplace Dynamics
By nature, workplaces large or small, rely on the teams that work on their behalf.

In other words, when an employee leaves, particularly from SMEs, remaining staff members have to take up the shortfall, leading to heavier workloads and a deterioration in workplace dynamics.

Resentment towards a company can increase, leading to higher staff turnovers. Again, this can spell trouble for small businesses, as they balance the need to meet tasks with keeping their staff content.
 
Managing an Amicable Employee Exit
While a hostile employee exit can be extremely difficult for a company to tackle, both during and after their departure, a cordial departure can also be a challenge.

While their exit may not be confrontational, they will have their reasons for leaving. Take measures to ensure such departures remain amicable and your relationship with former employee remains positive.

• Feedback

Take time to discuss your employee’s reasons for leaving, by asking for feedback.

Their honest thoughts about the company, its management and processes, will help you improve your working environment for remaining and future employees.

This approach also helps you to maintain a positive relationship with the former employee, while demonstrating a commitment to improve the workplace for existing staff. This can help prevent further staff turnover, ensuring your business continues to perform.

• Exit Interviews

A business can manage an amicable departure effectively by conducting exit interviews.

Such measures can ensure employees feel that their contribution to the company was valued. In turn, an employer can also improve their brand.

It is only natural that that employee will discuss their previous employment with their new colleagues, friends and family. If an employee were to feel undervalued by you as an employer, this could damage your reputation and brand with other publics.

Exit interviews will help to form lasting positive relationships between an employer and a departing employee, as well as provide a further opportunity for a business to improve their culture for remaining staff.
 
Managing a Negative Employee Exit
High profile, negative employee departures can severely impact an organisation, its reputation with stakeholders, and the workplace dynamics among remaining staff.

Not only can such exits damage an employer’s branding, but they have the potential to generate talent shortages as a result of higher staff turnover. Clearly a company’s ability to manage these hostile departures effectively is crucial.

While ensuring the departing employee provides feedback and received an exit interview is also crucial during more confrontational departures, an organisation must effectively plan legally for negative departures.

• Notice Periods

A business can conduct employee exit management effectively, by ensuring all staff are aware of notice periods, and their legal requirement to work for the full notice period.

• Company Materials

A business should plan ahead, ensuring that company materials can be effectively protected during the negative departure of an employee.

Ensuring employees have not taken confidential data, records or materials by checking hard copy materials as well as computers, businesses can protect themselves throughout these negative departures.

• Fulfil Legal Obligations

A company can protect themselves from possible legal challenges by ensuring that it fulfils all legal obligations to a departing employee.

Whether it means that all wages owed are paid efficiently, employees are aware of all required legal notices, and/or all benefit packages are met, companies can attempt to reduce the hostility of an exit, while meeting all legal obligations as an employer.
 
Plan Ahead for Effective Employee Exit Management
Whether an employee’ departure is amicable or not, a business can best prepare and conduct effective employee exit management by planning departure procedures ahead.

​This will ensure a company can protect themselves legally, ensure that its brand or reputation is not damaged amongst internal and external publics, as well as ensure optimum performance is continued.

In this series, the challenges faced by working parents as they return to work, and how best businesses can support them during this transition, has been explored.

This last article will delve into the importance of a parent-friendly culture, and how organisations can best create this in their environment.
 
‘Parent-Friendly’ Not Yet a Reality
In a 2018 survey by HR software provider CIPHR, just 55% of working parents felt able to access flexible working arrangements, something identified as a key way in which a business can support a working parent returning to work.

But such arrangements should be underpinned by a foundational parent-friendly company culture. Such an atmosphere can aid an organisation’s retention of talent and foster an inclusive environment for all.
 
Example of Best Practice: Deloitte
Working Families UK have revealed that in 2018, one of the most parent-friendly workplaces in the UK is Deloitte.

By joining initiatives like Mumsnet’s ‘Family Friendly’ programme, as well as publishing their parental pay benefits, Deloitte continue to foster their parent-friendly culture, ensuring the inclusion of working parents is an integral part of their organisation.

No doubt this helps this business to remain successful, retaining great talent and optimising their performance of the process.
 
Why Should Your Business Become More Parent-Friendly?
Like Deloitte, an enterprise which maintains a parent-friendly company culture can retain their best talent, while remaining diverse.

This will enhance an organisation’s performance, as it continues to employ their best talent, while improving their employer brand to potential recruits who seek a parent-friendly workplace for future employment.  
 
How Can Your Business Become More Parent-Friendly?
Below are just some of the ways in which a business can become more parent-friendly:

• On-Site Childcare

The provision of on-site childcare has become increasingly popular amongst some multinationals, but more widespread adoption is needed to aid working parents.

While childcare costs are rising both in Ireland and further afield, on-site childcare can give working parents peace of mind, as their children can be closer to hand.

By providing workplace discounts, this can further aid working parents to afford childcare, while ensuring that they can still meet their professional goals within their careers at an organisation.

• Job-sharing

The provision of job-sharing for working parents can greatly aid them in their work-life balance, while ensuring that a company can retain good talent and skills needed for their performance.

Different colleagues with children may have different commitments regarding the age of their children. Job-sharing can ease the pressure from both of these roles, allowing them to remain in a job and active in their careers, while meeting their parental duties.

Job-sharing can also ease working parent guilt, as it will provide those colleagues with more time at home.

• Regular Conversations

A business can provide extra support to working parents by ensuring regular conversation take place with management.

Regardless of what level colleagues may work within an organisation, having regular meetups with a manager or supervisor will ensure working parents have their needs or issues heard.

Management will also be provided with a better understanding of the challenges working parents face within the workplace, giving a better insight into how best they can help their colleagues.

• Family Bonding Workplace Activities

Businesses can solidify a parent friendly company culture by hosting an range of family bonding activities for all staff and their relatives. Whether monthly or annually, these activities can better develop relationships between colleagues, with the knowledge of each-others family situation.  

It could be an annual kids’ Christmas party, or it could be family fun days in aid of a local charity. No matter the event, these activities can greatly enhance an organisation’s culture for working parents.

With Irish childcare costs rising by €770 a year across Ireland, parents returning to work face more pressure than ever.

This is reflected in “working parent guilt”, experienced by 66% of men and 60% of women.

Regardless of gender or reason for parental absence, all working parents should feel adequately supported by their workplaces when returning to work.
 
Why is it Important to Support Working Parents as they Return to Work?
Returning to work after a prolonged period of time, for example maternity or paternity leave, can be exciting but daunting.

Employees come and go, while working tasks change over time. Returning parents have to learn new names and faces, while getting to grips with new tasks and managing their new work-life balance.

It is crucial workplaces support returning working parents as they navigate this new territory. Such support will prevent feelings of resentment creeping in, while large staff turnovers can be avoided, retaining returning talent and using this experience to develop new staff and improve the workplace.
 
How Can Businesses Support Working Parents when they Return to Work?
Returning to work can be a challenge, particularly for new parents, as they acclimatise to the responsibility of juggling a new baby alongside their existing workloads. Working parents with multiple children will also face new challenges.

A study has revealed just 14% of male working parents had never had a request for leave turned down. Clearly there needs to be more flexibility from employers for all working parents, men and women.
 
Flexible Arrangements
With a Eurobarometer study revealing only 1 in 4 Irish workers receive flexible arrangements, it is crucial Irish businesses improve to allow working parents the satisfaction of a positive work-life balance.

Whether it’s a dental appointment, or a sports day, allowing working parents the breathing space to balance their work more flexibly can only be positive for a working environment.  

Flexible arrangements can include:

·         Flexi-Time
·         Work from home days
·         Temporary or permanent part-time arrangements
·         Job shares

Such arrangements can enhance employee wellbeing, and prevent large staff turnover, allowing a business to retain their talent and their capacity for superior performance.
 
Upskilling Others
Employees seeking to ‘up their game’ and take on new tasks could also be utilised by a business to take the pressure of returning working parents. While not replacing the returning employee, by having an extra pair of hands on a task, businesses can improve a working environment while ensuring that their performance does not suffer.
 
Inclusive Culture
An inclusive working environment is crucial for returning staff. Not only will they need to acquaint themselves with new staff but begin to learn new tasks and remember old ones.

An inclusive culture where all staff feel that they can interact with each-other frequently and cohesively can only benefit an organisation. By fostering an inclusive culture, new or childless staff and returning staff can be provided the space to get to know each other, and to develop positive dynamics for the workplace.

Developing such relationships between staff will prevent resentment towards workloads from either staff group, while growing understanding between colleagues and the professional and personal challenges they may face.

​In the final article of this series, the importance of a parent-friendly culture and its positive impact on the workplace will be explored more in-depth.

Whether single, married, separated or divorced, all working parents deserve support from their workplaces during holiday season.

A recent survey found just 55% of working parents feel that they can ask for entitled annual leave during busy school holiday periods.

While SMEs can struggle to maintain performance with multiple employees on annual leave at the same time, effective planning and fostering of an inclusive culture will ensure school holiday periods are managed effectively.
 
SME School Holiday Challenges
Working parents juggle on a daily basis. From school runs to sports team try-outs, a child’s social schedule can be endless. On top of this, school holidays present a fresh challenge, as organisations face the task of giving parents time off, while ensuring company performance does not suffer.

School holidays cannot be avoided; give or take a few days, most working parents face the challenge of obtaining sought-after annual leave all at the same time.

While those with children are often prioritised, SMEs workplace environments can begin to foster a culture of resentment from childless employees, coupled with unnecessary guilt from working parents.
 
Impact on Workplace Wellbeing
Such a culture can damage a workplace and their employee wellness. Resentment from childless staff can cause a breakdown in dynamics between management, as well as fellow subordinate colleagues.

On the other hand, working parents may feel guilty to ask for annual leave during school holiday periods. This can result in a deterioration in their own workplace wellbeing and resentment towards poor management of holidays.

Ultimately, this culture of resentment and guilt can severely impact workplace relations, leading to higher staff turnover and a breakdown of organisation performance through loss of talent.
 
How Can Businesses Support Staff During School Holiday Season?
Working Mother recently published the “Top 100” companies for working mothers, with the top 10 featuring companies such as Deloitte and IBM. In this survey, it was identified that these top companies see childcare and working parental challenges as a joint venture between themselves and their colleagues.

Organisations like this raise the bar for their counterparts; SMEs, in particular, face the threat of losing staff to organisations that take working parents and the challenges that come with this sector seriously.

Annual leave is often considered a given, overlooked as nothing more than a simple holiday allowance. However, there are a number of ways organisations can improve their annual leave programme to boost morale, improve retention and support working parents.
 
Foster a Culture of Inclusivity
Businesses can learn to juggle school holiday season effectively by fostering a culture of inclusivity of working parents, as well as an understanding towards the resentment that can be felt by childless employees.

Workplaces can foster such a culture by ensuring that staff at all levels interact with each other. This could be through organising weekly meetings between different staff or departments, a staff night out, or even spontaneous coffee outings.

Such staff interaction can ensure that workplace dynamics are kept inclusive, establish greater understanding between colleagues and their personal situations, as well as prevent resentment from creeping in.

In turn, organisations can better understand how to support their colleagues during school holiday season.
 
Plan, Prioritise, Perform
Planning staff holidays well in advance will help organisations to satisfy employee needs, and prevent resentment growing between colleagues and towards management.  

By ensuring that effective cover is available, with equal skills, companies can support working parents while maintaining their success and performance as a business.

Prioritising tasks for employees who are about to go on annual leave should also be high on an organisation’s support agenda. Providing staff adequate time and space to plan, prioritise, delegate and deliver their workload leading up to their time off will ensure organisation performance is not affected.

Not only will this improve performance of cover staff, but a working parent will feel able to cope with their workload when they return.
 
Work Together with Working Parents
Working together with working parents is crucial for an organisation to retain talent, while ensuring effective performance regardless of time of year.

Businesses can improve relations with working parents by discussing how they can improve their annual leave programme to suit their needs.

An inclusive culture will eradicate unnecessary feelings of guilt often experienced by working parents when seeking annual leave during school holidays.

With many workplaces denying a carry-over of annual leave, this is critical. Organisations can ensure that all staff take their full holiday allowance, de-stigmatising this benefit, and improving employee wellbeing as a result.

Superior planning and management, alongside a ‘joint’ attitude will ensure organisations work together with working parents and tackle school holiday periods effectively.

The next article in this “ABC: Working Parents” series will explore how organisations can support working parents as they return to work.

We have all heard the saying, “airing out dirty laundry”. And we have seen this play out online. But what happens when a staff member abuses their workplace on social media?

A lack of employee awareness towards personal social media misuse can spell trouble for SMEs. It can lead to different forms of workplace bullying, including gossip and libel of management and an organisation.

Social media policies are key in helping businesses to avoid social media misuse by staff.  

Challenges of Implementing a Social Media Policy: Blurred Lines
Social media dominates all communication in 2018. However, the ever-blurring lines between the employee and the person, public vs private, are a growing concern.  

In September, the UK’s NHS disciplined more than 1200 employees for their abuse of social media, with cases including workplace bullying, defamation and the sharing of patient details online. 

Social media misuse from staff in the form of workplace bullying and defamation can affect organisations in a number of ways.

Social Media Misuse: Workplace Bullying
Social media can encourage and facilitate workplace bullying during ‘out-of-hours’. Not only can bullies utilise social media to spread gossip or falsehoods about an employee, but they can use it to target those that they bully when they are out of the office.

While some networks, such as Facebook, are introducing measures to try and tackle bullying facilitated by their sites, businesses can do more to tackle bullying in the workplace head-on.

Defamation and Libel
As more workers become empowered to air their views in public, companies face the risk of being libelled by their own staff on social media. This can significantly reduce the reputation of an organisation with its internal and external publics.

The Irish Court Service reported earlier this year that there had been an 85% rise in defamation cases as a result of the rising use of social media.

Similar to workplace bullying, libel on social media can affect an organisation’s working environment, as well as the dynamics of workplace relationships. Implementing a social media policy can tackle such threats head-on.

Why Should Businesses Implement a Social Media Policy?
As discussed in past articles, workplaces have a legal duty in Ireland to ensure that their environments are safe places to work for employees.

By implementing a clear social media policy, companies can help to prevent workplace bullying taking place via social media. Employees will be clear on what constitutes online bullying, and how to report such matters.

A business lacking a robust social media policy opens itself up to preventable costs, just as Tesla recently learnt in the aftermath of a tweet from former Chairman Elon Musk. After tweeting his ambition to take the company private, the silicon-valley enterprise’s share prices dropped dramatically.

Social media policies can educate employees on what constitutes organisational defamation through their personal profiles, how such libel can affect the image of the business as well as their own personal reputation. This will protect a company from a loss of reputation, as well as prevent the fostering of such a company culture.  

By educating staff in this way, businesses can act against employees who misuse social media for bullying or defamatory purposes, ensuring the workplace remains safe for all workers.

Implementing a Social Media Policy
Just as regulation of social media as a whole is not a clear issue, neither is the implementation of social media rules within the workplace.

Free speech is an important right for many. However, to protect their companies, business owners and managers should implement a fair and thorough social media policy.

While social media policies should prohibit any form of defamation against an organisation and its staff, SMEs should tread this fine line cautiously, avoiding prohibitions on employee political or personal beliefs, so long as they are not discriminatory or abusive in anyway.