In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, host Brandon Laws welcomes Robert Glazer to discuss his book Rethinking Two Weeks’ Notice. Glazer rethinks outdated offboarding practices, advocating for trust, open communication, and mutual respect to create smoother transitions for employees and organizations. With practical advice and real-life stories, this conversation offers fresh insights into improving workplace culture. Tune in to learn how to transform the offboarding experience for everyone involved!
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Robert Glazer is the founder and Chairman of Acceleration Partners, a global partner marketing agency, and a bestselling author of seven books, including Elevate, Friday Forward, and the topic of today’s discussion, Rethinking Two Weeks’ Notice. Twice named to Glassdoor’s Top CEOs list for Small and Medium Companies, he also hosts the Elevate Podcast and writes the Friday Forward newsletter, reaching over 200,000 readers worldwide.
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THE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION
Creating a successful transition for employees starts with a foundation of psychological safety, open communication, mutual respect, and a commitment to mutually beneficial outcomes. According to our recent guest, Robert Glazer, these are the high-level elements every organization needs to ensure smoother and more respectful offboarding experiences.
Psychological safety plays a crucial role in this process. When employees feel secure, they are more likely to provide honest feedback and discuss challenges openly. “If a culture has psychological safety, it’s collecting feedback and data, and managers are conducting one-on-ones,” Glazer explains. This openness allows organizations to address systemic or personal issues while fostering trust.
Mutual respect is another essential piece. Glazer points out that leaders sometimes avoid difficult conversations by making struggling employees out to be “the bad guy.” Instead, he suggests leaning into the relationship with honesty: “Look, you’ve worked with me for three years, and I value you. Objectively, though, you’re on the sales team and have missed quota for four quarters in a row. This isn’t sustainable. What are we doing here? Do you want to explore another role? Can I help you find a different job?” It’s these types of conversations that allow for transparency and, ultimately, a successful transition.
Respect is about recognizing an individual’s potential, even if it’s not a fit for their current role. While parting ways is never easy, Glazer emphasizes that “you can aim to make it as good as possible for the person and the organization.” Prioritizing these principles can lead to better outcomes and foster goodwill, even in challenging transitions.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
A Different Take on Leaving
“The book talks about this concept of an open transition program. How do you create a program where people can work their way out, and both you and they are aware of it, they can interview openly, and we don’t need all this lying and faking at the end? I mean, you have these analyst programs or whatever, where people know they’ll be there for a year or two, and yet there’s still no way to handle that differently than the usual surprise and two weeks’ notice. It’s dumbfounding.”
“Jim’s” Story
Before we created the program, we started with a test case involving Patient Zero, who I’ll call Jim. Jim had worked with us for a while, and everyone loved him. He had been on a performance improvement plan — which we should talk about because there are so many problems and issues with those plans.
He worked his way back from it but then started falling into another lull. We were like, ‘All right, we need to deal with Jim. Do we fire him? Do we put him on another PIP or something else?’ Instead, we started a conversation. We said, ‘Jim, what’s going on?’ and Jim admitted he really wanted to do something different. He liked the company but didn’t want to be in client services anymore.
We had been wrestling with this problem anyway, and the whole two-weeks-notice process really bothered me. So we said, ‘Why don’t we try this? Jim, you start looking for a job, and we’ll start looking for your replacement. We’ll give it a set timeline, and you don’t have to lie. Let’s see if we can land both of these planes and make it a better outcome.’ And it worked really well. We made some mistakes, though, and I address those in the last chapter with the seven key components of a transition program.
Promoting Secrecy
“I asked, ‘What do you do when someone says they’re going to leave or gives two weeks’ notice?’ They said, ‘Well, we ask them to leave that day.’ I asked, ‘Why do you do that?’ They replied, ‘We just feel like it’s better and cleaner.’ I followed up: ‘Let me ask you this: If people see that as soon as they give notice — whether it’s a month or two weeks — they’re immediately told to pack up and walk out that day, with their belongings in a box and their head down in shame, and they’re not even trusted to stay in the environment for more than a few hours, do you think that makes people more or less likely to discuss their intentions with their manager?’”
Keeping Communication Lines Open
If someone says they’re engaged but doesn’t sound or look engaged, dive deeper: ‘What’s going on here?’ If there’s psychological safety and trust between an employee and their manager, most people will open up. People know when they’re not doing well. They don’t want to underperform, but they may feel scared or obligated to put on a façade because they need to provide for their family. They really don’t like being in that position, and recognizing this can create opportunities for much better outcomes.
The Elements of a Successful Transition
Have a written plan — lay it all out: the timeline, what’s being done, the expectations, interview guidelines, work hours, and all the details. Let’s not leave any of this ambiguous or subjective. Timetables are really important, and generally, 90 days is a good window. For example, here’s the timetable: you can work on your job search during this period, but it ends at 90 days. If it’s open-ended, people might not put enough effort into their job search, and they might not have a job lined up by the end. Still, being able to search for a new job while employed and having a reference is better than 95% of other scenarios. Like anything, communication is key. Keep an open dialogue throughout the process. You also have to understand that if someone finds a new job quickly, they probably won’t stay the full 90 days. They’re not going to tell a new company, ‘I can’t start for six weeks.’ That’s where communication helps. If someone says, ‘I’m in the final round, and they’re letting me know next week. If I get the job, I’ll need to give two weeks’ notice,’ then you’re prepared for that outcome.
LEARN MORE
Curious about how to rethink traditional approaches to employee transitions? Grab your copy of Rethinking Two Weeks’ Notice on Amazon or wherever books are sold. You can also read the first two chapters for free on Substack or visit RobertGlazer.com to dive deeper.