You are sitting ask your desk looking at the resignation letter that has just been handed to you (I personally feel that a letter is more professional and courteous than an email, but then again I am a traditionalist!)
So, what now? As a person with responsibility for managing a business function or maybe the business itself, you have a decision to make. If you are lucky, you may have suspected something was amiss and that this moment might have been coming. But often you think the best and fear the worst.
Before the blind panic begins, take a deep breath and think about your situation. Do you need to recruit? You may think that, as a Recruiter, I would be shouting “call me now I have the right person for you!” However, as a Business Owner, I also take the view that an organisation should go into the process with their eyes wide open. Only with this in place can the process run smoothly.
Is the person leaving vital to your operation? Can another member of staff fulfil the role? Is the workload such that it can be distributed across other team members? Larger companies may face certain restrictions on headcounts and budgets which may impede your plan. However, if you try to spread the resources too thinly, can this damage the work you do and ultimately productivity? It may even lead to more resignations!
If you come to the conclusion that the resignation means that you need to bring in a new member of staff, then you need to decide what you are actually recruiting for.
We will cover the next stage shortly. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, comments or feedback.