Resignation. Knowing When It’s Time…

Knowing when it’s time.

It’s no secret that resignation from anything is hard. Be it resignations from public office, volunteer roles, relationships (yikes) or other.

A few years ago I wrote about the process of resignation. It’s a serious thing and one that has been thrown into the spotlight again with that Royal Resignation.

The Way To Turn It In

But is there a right way to resign? Having managed the Human Resource role for over 25 years, I have seen many. Besides the common letter, I have seen post-it notes from recent grads to their supervisor, text messages, and a call to say “I’m out”.

Reflecting on the Royal couple’s resignation or their desire to make a huge change, its as though the world has been turned upside down. So many questions. What will happen next? How will they function? Where will they live? How will they perform their various roles? So many questions.

But there are correct ways to resign. Most companies have formal procedures to be followed including putting the resignation in writing (not on post it …smile). Companies often advise employees of the pertinent notice to be given to the employer if and when they intend to leave. This varies from company to company and may be anywhere from a day’s notice for new hires still on probation, two weeks or a month depending on state laws. Again this all depends on the capacity that the incumbent holds.

A Sigh Of Relief?

When it’s finally done employers may decide to have the employee leave the company immediately or stay until they hire a replacement for training and handover should they do desire. It might very well be a time to shake things up a bit, negating handover to replacement.

Reports are that the royal couple announced their resignation on social media…more specifically, Instagram. This has alarmed the Queen as well as members of the royal family.

The Divide

There’s now a divide about whether it should have been done and how. Oprah’s name has been called and she has denied providing advice or her opinion on this very royal matter.

I’ll only conclude with encouraging you to do it the ‘proper’ way. That means, give the required notice to the powers that be. But then again Millennials consider the decision to be the couple’s because of the bureaucracy involved, while older generations support to follow the traditional route.

It’s your decision. But whatever route you take, be prepared for the next steps as the receivers of the resignation respond.

Good luck to you as you make your own changes this year. If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask me how either through my newest book Your Career: Ditch It or Switch It or simply contacting me here.

Cheers!