IT professionals quit jobs every day, and employers and employees alike know resignations come with the territory. Even so, resignations can cause turmoil on a team, especially if that team works well together and has a solid history of delivering results. People often wonder “what happens next”? They begin to stress about the added work that will fall on their plates during a candidate search and whether the new hire will work out. If you want to keep your tech teams running smoothly, it is important to consider the way resignations are announced. The right approach can help manage stress, keep productivity high and lessen the strain all around.

Move Quickly

The resignation gossip mill runs quickly, and even if you think you can keep a resignation under wraps, odds are, you can’t beat the speed of rumors. That means if you drag your feet on an announcement, you’ll lose control of the narrative. Break the news to employees as quickly as possible so it isn’t delivered to them through a gossipy co-worker who stokes fears and uncertainty.

Have a Transition Plan

As soon as an employee resigns, start working on a transition plan with that employee. Ask them to create a list of their open tasks so the work can be reassigned, and have them spend time training the existing staff on those tasks. The remaining employees will have lots of questions about how work will be managed from the time the old employee leaves to the time a new employee is fully onboarded. Make sure the team sees you have a plan in place and that things will remain under control.

Include Your Team in the Transition

Including employees in the development of the transition plan shows you are committed to their satisfaction and success. They will be directly impacted by the loss, and if you simply impose new work on them, they will feel resentful. However, if you ask for volunteers and actively solicit input, they will feel valued.

As you begin your candidate search, it’s also useful to ask team members what types of skills and personality traits they want to see in a new team member. They often have insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the previous employee and the way those strengths and weaknesses impacted the group. Take individual input with a grain of salt. Instead, look for commonalities and patterns in their answers to identify qualities to look for in candidates.

If you want to ensure a short time to hire and smooth transition when an IT professional turns in their resignation, work with a strategic staffing partner who can show real results. PEAK Technical Consulting is a market leader in IT recruiting and we can help you achieve your goals. Contact us today to start the conversation.

About PEAK

PEAK Technical Consulting is a leading provider of IT and technical talent, offering contract staffing, contract-to-hire and direct hire solutions throughout the United States. With nearly fifty years of technical recruiting experience, we are committed to delivering real value to our clients by providing the resources, support and solutions they need to succeed.

PEAK consistently delivers top talent for even tough-to-fill positions. See some of the IT jobs we have recently filled for our clients:

Senior Scala Developer

Senior Software Automation Engineer

Software Release Engineer

If you are looking for skilled, experienced IT professionals to help your business grow and prosper, contact the IT recruiting experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today.