“It's not me, it's you.”

Everything seems to be going well. Your current team are productive, there are no conflicts within the business, and everyone seems enthusiastic about their jobs. If everything stayed the same, profits would soar and it would essentially be your idea of business utopia!

However, as we know when it comes to the workplace, businesses are quickly evolving and changing at a quicker rate every day – nothing stays the same.

So, when one of your high performing team members pulls you aside to have “the chat”: “Can I have a word?” Unfortunately, you know what's coming and at a time like this, it might initially feel like you're being dumped – on say, Valentines Day. Ouch!

It's no unfamiliar concept but even so, it can be very disappointing to lose a valued staff member. Fortunately, there are ways to handle resignations properly and efficiently to minimise negative impact for both parties…

 Control your reaction 

Listen to your employee's opinions, and ask why they want to leave. The way you react to their decision could well define how your employee will decide to spend their last days working in your company. If your reaction is negative, the employee may choose to respond with a similar attitude.

To avoid acting out of emotion, replace anger with empathy. It takes time to make such a life-changing decision and might be difficult for the employee to share this news with you. Be an empathetic leader and help make it easier for them by showing understanding and a positive attitude.

Attempt to negotiate

If the employee is not moving away or changing roles, you might want to try and keep them on board by negotiating with them. If this is the case, think very carefully about what you can offer them as an incentive to stay. If you need to take time to deliberate and confirm this, tell the employee so you can make an offer that you can honour.

Making promises you can't keep and preventing them from accepting another opportunity will result in bad feelings and poor productivity from the employee. If making a counter offer is not an option, both you and the employee will have to accept that this is the end of the road for your working relationship.

 Notify the team and minimise disruption

After you've accepted your employee's resignation, you'll want to circulate an email to notify the business that he or she is leaving the business - make their reason for leaving clear. Everybody should get the same message and make sure you announce it before they leave - if you announce it after their departure, you're more likely to create a strong feeling of uncertainty among your workforce.

It's usually best to deliver the news in person to any of their direct reports and team members. They'll need reassurance from their manager, so keep calm and make it known that this is a small bump in the road and won't compromise their own positions in any way. This also minimises trivial hearsay and gossiping.

Give them a decent send-off

You should give your former employee the opportunity to say goodbye to their colleagues, perhaps with a leaving lunch or dinner. Making them feel appreciated will help them leave on good terms and unburned bridges, which can be beneficial for your reputation as an employer! Not to mention showing them gratitude for their contribution to the company, and that they'll be missed.

Learn from the resignation 

Like all relationship breakups, you can either choose to wallow in the sadness of loss, or you can consider their resignation an opportunity to learn, look inward and grow stronger.

This could even be a chance to restructure or promote promising talent into a higher role. Every cloud has a silver lining and by following these strategies, you can ensure you handle resignations as smoothly as possible and take positives from every situation.