Do you allow leaving or demand quitting? Nexfirm blog

As I decided to resign from my first job out of college to start a business, I received one of the best pieces of professional advice of my career from my father. He told me- never quit; always leave. Leaving meant communicating my departure respectfully to my boss, ensuring he was the first to know, not the last. Providing ample notice so as not to cause hardship. Handing off my work in good order and well documented, and carefully training my replacement. Never bad-mouthing the company or its leadership and expressing appreciation for the opportunity. Basically, to be sure to do everything I could not to burn a bridge.

If you are the founder of a law firm, you have, at one time or another, felt the burn of an employee quitting and committing the sins my father warned against. Leaving a mess. Embarrassing you. Creating pain for your team. Crossing the bridge out of the company, hollering, “flame on!”.

In these situations, emotions often cause you to blame the employee, observing that someone who does that is not a good employee. They are unethical. And immature. Good riddance, you say. But how much blame falls on you? Have you created an environment that allows people to leave elegantly, or do your practices force people to quit?

Many of the founding partners I speak with don’t think much about this when they start their firms, often adopting practices for departing employees they experienced in BigLaw. Bad idea.

To create a culture that allows people to leave and not quit, ask yourself the following questions-

• Do we allow employees to have an open conversation about leaving without fear of being fired?
• Are paychecks, bonuses, capital distributions, and health insurance coverage used as bargaining chips when people resign?
• Would we immediately walk someone out of the office when they give notice?
• Does my firm communicate employee departures respectfully, thanking departing employees and celebrating their contributions to the team and clients?
• Can departed employees expect support from the firm, or are they cut off when they leave?
• Should departed employees feel confident that they will not be disparaged?

You get the point. Creating a culture of fear and risk around resignation invites quitting. Others on the team watch closely to see how you treat people on their way out and act accordingly when it’s their turn. You might consider-

• Remove the fear of punishment.
• Make sure that your policies are two-way. If you want people to give you two weeks’ notice, consider offering two weeks to an employee that is let go, for example.
• Be kind.

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David DePietto is the founder and CEO of NexFirm. He can be reached at 212-292-1001 or email ddepietto@nexfirm.com.