REALTOR® Magazine Online: Tips on Handling Resignations Amiably

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			*Retaining Top Personnel* RESIGNATIONS AND TERMINATIONS
	The Cost of Turnover Orientation Motivation Coaching and Mentoring Training Goal Setting Performance Assessment Resignation and Termination More Resources: Retaining Top Personnel Code of Ethics: Retaining Top Personnel		RESIGNATIONS AND TERMINATIONS Whether you’re losing a valued veteran or calling it quits with a struggling newbie, effective termination procedures will reduce hard feelings and minimize legal risks. For more on minimizing the risks of hiring and firing personnel, visit the Risk Management section . Tips on Handling Resignations Amiably Thank associates for their years of service. Conduct exit interviews and ask why the individuals are leaving. Invite them to return to the company in the future. TIP: Document your exit interview and keep the write up in the salesperson’s personnel file . Make Exit Interviews Work for You Even if you can’t convince a top performer to stay, the feedback you gain from an exit interview may help you retain the next one. TIP: A successful exit interview can also help you avoid misunderstandings that harm transactions in the works. Tell them you don’t want to lose them and that you’d like to keep them. (Assuming that you do.) Appeal to their emotions to get an honest answer. “I need your help to improve the company.” Ask them what they liked about the new company they chose. TIP: Use what you learn about what other companies are offering to make changes in your own company’s policies. —Al Mayer, Fred Sands, REALTORS®, Malibu, Calif. Let a salesperson air grievances and don’t react defensively to criticism. If a resignation is a hasty one brought on by a particular bad event, this opportunity to vent may be enough to get the salesperson to reconsider. —Real Estate Broker’s Insider, March 1, 1998 Offer to consider changes that might relieve dissatisfaction. TIP: Don’t let yourself get coerced into making changes to retain a salesperson—even a top performer. Be sure the change is in the best interest of the company before you agree. —John Cyr and Joan Sobeck, and Laurel McAdams, Real Estate Brokerage, 5th edition, Dearborn Financial Publishing, 1999 Find out if money is a big issue, and make a counteroffer. TIP: If the issue is money, ask the person to give you 24 hours to think about the counteroffer you can provide. Try to hold the person for one more day, even if you’re willing to match the dollar figure on the spot. If you make an immediate offer, people are more likely to shrug their shoulders and say “Thanks, my mind is made up.” One day provides some time for the person to reconsider and rethink his or her options. —Al Mayer, Malibu, Calif. 7 Exit Interview Questions >

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