Rekrytering får all uppmärksamhet. Avslut får nästan ingen.
That is a mistake. How a company handles someone leaving — voluntarily or not — says a great deal about its culture. And everyone in the organization is watching.
What often goes wrong
The most common thing I see is endings handled without much thought. Not out of ill will — but out of discomfort. No one wants to draw it out. No one quite knows how to do it well. The result is that it moves quickly, and what should have taken time does not get it.
Colleagues notice. They may not say anything — but they register how someone they worked with was treated at their most difficult moment. It shapes how they see their own place in the organization.
What a dignified ending looks like in practice
First: honesty in time. For a voluntary departure — ensure the person receives a proper send-off, not merely a calculation of remaining holiday days. For an involuntary one — give the person the information they need to manage their situation, not only what is legally required.
Second: a handover plan. Knowledge that exists only in one person's head is a vulnerability for the organization. It is rarely too early to start documenting.
Third: an exit conversation that is actually a conversation. Not a form. An honest discussion about what worked, what did not, and what the organization can learn.
Why it matters for those who stay
Those who leave talk. About how they were treated. About what was said. About how the meeting went.
Those who stay observe. They draw their own conclusions about what their own employment is worth when it eventually ends.
Endings are not the end of a relationship. They are the last opportunity to make it something worth remembering.
If you have thoughts, questions, or simply want to talk something through — feel free to get in touch. I am happy to have an initial conversation with no agenda.
Magdalena Hagström Ståhl
By M Consulting AB
Right person. Right place. Everything changes.