Retirement
In a nutshell: What's it all about?
Retirement is an important time for everyone involved. It is important to plan succession arrangements well in advance to ensure transfer of know-how, and to organise and implement the departure smoothly.
Opportunities and possibilities
The retirement of a team member also always presents an opportunity to reorganise the team, by reassigning tasks and responsibilities. A successful transition phase with well-planned knowledge transfer ensures continuity and a positive atmosphere, which ultimately benefits your team, the individual employees and ETH as a whole. Celebrating an employee's retirement with a suitable event, such as a drinks party, also sets a positive example for the rest of the team.
Get active: How to demonstrate good leadership
- As a manager, establish a dialogue early and initiate the process.
- Involve the team in the transition process: who will take over what up to the retirement date?
- Ensure the transfer of know-how.
- Rethink the structures and processes in the team and seize the opportunity for a reorganisation.
- Organise an appreciative farewell event.
- Support the successor in the onboarding and transfer phase to ensure a smooth transition.
Self-reflection: Am I applying my social and leadership competencies effectively?
Building bridges:
- Did I organise an appreciative farewell for my team member?
- Did I ensure the feedback from the departing employee was passed on to the team?
Acting responsibly:
- Did I look after the knowledge transfer to the team and make succession arrangements?
- Have I undertaken any reorganisation as a result?
- What have I achieved by doing this?
Nurturing well-being:
- Did I manage to tailor the offboarding phase in an appreciative way for all those involved?
In short: 5 steps to success
Areas of responsibility: Roles
Manager: ensures a successful transition in the team and is responsible for the retirement process, know-how transfer, definition of tasks and team organisation
Employee: contributes to know-how transfer
HR: supports the offboarding process
Main responsibility
Manager