Coasting Into Retirement
As you build a Threads core values driven culture on your team, you are going to retain a higher percentage of your employees over time. Employee tenure will steadily increase as you develop a stable base of great people who can’t imagine working anywhere else. Many employees will choose to work for you until a major company or life transition. Really great cultures can even have people retire from them.
Yes, it can and does happen. In a society where the average employee tenure is only 4 years, it is still possible to create an environment where people will choose to stay and work for you as long as possible.
I’m Going to Retire
I had been working with Jim for almost 20 years on the day he came in to tell me he was going to retire. Jim had been an incredibly valuable member of our team. He had been there from the beginning as one of our early employees and had responsibility for bringing in millions of dollars of sales over his career. He was a quintessential problem solver, one of the best I have ever seen at figuring out a solution when everyone else had given up.
Jim was also a planner. He was the kind of guy who had been planning for his retirement for many years before it was going to happen. He was a savvy saver of money and invested time into building his dream place to retire. It was in a warmer climate, so he could enjoy golf and other activities. For him, it wasn’t if he was going to retire, but when. As the time got closer, Jim talked about it openly with anyone who was willing to listen.
It was a normal work day when Jim officially stopped in to my office to tell me about his pending retirement. I was expecting to have this conversation, but not necessarily at this specific time. When he told me the news, the first thing I did was to tell him “Congratulations!” Then, I asked him what he planned to do, (as if I already didn’t know) and his timeline. He wanted to retire in 6 months at the end of the year.
Finally, I asked him,
“How do you want the team to find out about your pending retirement?”
Now, most people assume that, of course, this person wants to tell everyone himself. Jim’s been talking about this for the last several years and now will be his moment in the spotlight. Strangely, he said that he preferred I told the team about his retirement and that I wait a few months to do it.
I Want To Take It Easy
Then he said this,
“I’m planning to kind of slow down what I’m doing. I’d like to not be involved in so many things. I’d like to kind of just take it easy these last several months.”
I was caught off guard by this. Jim wasn’t the kind of person to want to take a victory lap. He must’ve seen the expression change on my face when he said that, because immediately after he asked me,
“Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Without hesitation, I said,
“That is absolutely going to be a problem for me. Your career has been outstanding and I would hate to see you go out like that. I always envisioned you as the kind of person who would put the finishing touches on a masterpiece. That you would give the best work you’ve ever done, then walk out the door and turn off the lights.”
Now, Jim was looking back at me strangely. He told me that he believed he had done that many times already. In fact, he was 100% correct. He had done that in our organization time and time again over two decades. Then he said,
“I feel like I’ve earned the opportunity to coast to the finish line and into retirement.”
You Are As Important As Ever
So, what do you say as a leader? A very valuable employee is giving you six months’ notice on the way into retirement or a transition to a new role in another organization. This employee has done a fantastic job for you over their entire career and given you everything they had.
Has this employee earned the right, after years of hard work, to coast into retirement? The answer is NO.
I told Jim,
“Over the next six months, you are going to be as important as you have ever been to this organization. You are going to be sharing your knowledge with everyone who can learn from you. You’re going to be transitioning your workload. We need you documenting the important aspects of your job, the things nobody else may realize you do to make this place run the way it does. You are going to continue contributing to the daily work and projects that are flowing to our organization.”
In fact, I told him that,
“What I’m saying is something that I had actually learned from watching your actions day after day over the years. I saw the lights on at night when I left. I saw the lights on in the morning when I came in. That is who you are. You are somebody that I have always looked up to and aspired to be like in terms of your work ethic and dedication. Whatever you do in the next six months will set an example for others to follow.”
And then I finished with this:
“I can’t let you go out of here that way. Legends should go out like legends. Anything else in my eyes is unacceptable.”
I can admit that, when I said this, he wasn’t immediately satisfied. In fact, we sat in uncomfortable silence. He was thinking. After a minute of looking at me, Jim stood up from his chair. He didn’t say a word. He stepped towards me and extended his hand. I stood up and shook it. He turned and walked straight out of my office.
Jim made his next six months a masterpiece. He was a shining example of how a person finishes an amazing career. Everyone who followed him, lived up to his precedent. His example was so great that I have strived to follow it to this day.
Principles to Follow
Retirement or any planned employee transition takes on many different scenarios depending on the person and situation. You will have people who view retirement as a glorious opportunity they’ve worked and saved for their entire lives. Others will be retiring for scary health reasons and be facing a future filled with uncertainty. You could have a long-term employee transitioning out of the organization because of a spouse’s upcoming job change. It could also be a situation where the role has evolved into something the employee no longer enjoys.
You may see all of those scenarios and everything in between over the course of your career as a manager when it comes these types of transitions. Regardless of the details, here are 6 principles you can follow universally, to help you successfully navigate through any employee retirement or transition situation.
#1 Understandings, Not Misunderstandings
The first thing to consider is that not everyone is going to be the same at this moment. Sure, you will have policies around an employee’s pending retirement, but be careful to consider the human side of what’s happening before you.
Since there are so many variables to what a person might tell you, how do you even know where to begin? Start with asking questions to understand the reason they are retiring. Watch for their personal demeanor towards the idea of retirement. Are they happy? Excited? Nervous? Could it be that it’s necessary because of a medical condition? Understanding the reason why a person’s retiring and what they’re planning to do afterwards will start to bring the picture into focus.
Take notes as you discuss these questions. At the end of the discussion, go over your notes and make sure that the steps that you’re about to take are perfectly clear to the employee. Understandings, not misunderstandings.
#2 Get A Specific Retirement Date
The second thing that you should find out is the employee’s specific timeframe for retirement. I have had people tell me they’re planning to retire a year from today, as well as six months or even sooner. The planned retirement date can also be closely connected to the person’s demeanor about retirement (#1).
If the employee is unsure of a specific date, set a follow-up meeting to get back with them and confirm a specific date soon. Do not leave employee’s pending retirement up in the air. It can cause absolute chaos inside of a department and even an entire organization if an announcement is made with no time frame attached.
#3 Decide How And When To Communicate The Retirement
The third thing to find out is how the employee would like to communicate what they’re doing to the rest of the team.
Would they like to wait a certain amount of time?
Do they want to tell the team themselves or is it something that they’d like you to mention on their behalf?
If the employee wants you to make the announcement, what SPECIFIC details would they like you to share?
Giving people the opportunity to announce their retirement with dignity and the way they’ve imagined it, is an important part of getting it right.
#4 No Coasting In To Retirement
The team that’s still there deserves better. The employee who is retiring deserves better. You need to be concerned about the example that’s being set and what that means for your team long-term. Remember, when things don’t happen very often inside of a company, those things set precedent for all similar future events. From a leadership perspective, that precedent is going to be important to you long after this employee is gone.
#5 Succession Planning
Utilize the time given to you effectively. If you have several months, don’t wait to the last minute to start making decisions about who will fill the role of the retired employee. Particularly, if that employee is in a leadership role. Once a retirement is announced, the first question that those left behind will have is “Who’s going to be filling that role?” Good leaders will have a plan for this moment and not wait until the last minute. Waiting can cause internal battles with people jockeying for that position. I’ve seen moments like this turn into real problems for an organization. When this happens, we like to blame the retirement of the individual… only you know better.
#6 Do Something Personal
Write a note, a letter, something that recognizes what the individual has done for you. What they have taught you? What do you admire about them? When you do this, I want you to think about the time that a person has given to you and your organization. They’ve given a huge part of their life. What do you say to a talented person that’s given so much to you? Take your time. Write this note as if their spouse or children is going to read it… because they will.
How You Treat Them Is What They Will Remember
A retiring employee is going to be extra work. They are going to be hard to replace. Retirements can even lead to some fear and trepidation on your part. Never forget, amongst all of that, people will be watching how you treat the person that’s retiring. This is what your team will remember most about your leadership during this time.
