Reactions to your retirement announcement

[karen1972]

I hinted I was leaving for months, once I got some big project finished up, gave 2 weeks notice, they had a farewell lunch for me and then 2 weeks later they layed off 5 of the 8 people in my group I did everything I could to prepare for my leaving, we were EOL of the product line but with software/hardware in our business EOL means 5-7 more years of maintenance and we were only 2 years into that process. The problem was without me, management decided they weren't likely able to sell new services or do expansions because of lack of expertise, so when I went, so went everyone except the people who answered the helpline. That was a real kicker I did not plan on.

 

[CoolRich59]

Anyone have experience with a corp that immediately locked you out of physical and computer access upon giving notice?

Not personally, but have heard it happen to lots of people. The usual reason - whether or not valid - is to protect company assets.

Some people walk out the door with customer lists, technical info, etc.

Others have committed sabotage. Recently, someone at Twitter deleted Trump's account on his last day.

 

[CoolRich59]

The problem was without me, management decided they weren't likely able to sell new services or do expansions because of lack of expertise, so when I went, so went everyone except the people who answered the helpline. That was a real kicker I did not plan on.

Certainly not your fault, and, IMO, very short-sighted on mgmt's part. I suspect they are going to have some pretty unhappy clients when they realize they've been left high and dry.

 

[MRG]

Anyone have experience with a corp that immediately locked you out of physical and computer access upon giving notice?

Not personally but I've seen it done.

Actually one time I told HR to physically remove someone after cutting their access.

There are organizations that do that as a routine pratice. They prefer to pay out vs. risking corporate assets.

 

[Amethyst]

I was worried about reactions, but I needn't have been. They were glad I gave two months' notice, which gave them enough time to find a replacement (I was on shift work, so that could have been an issue if I'd left abruptly). I left on good terms with everybody and was invited to return part-time in a different assignment at the same (hourly) salary, which I did.

 

[harley]

Anyone have experience with a corp that immediately locked you out of physical and computer access upon giving notice?

Plenty of times. I was in network security, and it was a requirement if someone quit or was fired/RIF'ed we had to remove access to corporate assets immediately (hopefully before they were informed they were fired). In the case of resigning or being RIF'ed they might keep access to the internet and HR-type systems, but that was it. If they were fired they were walked off premises immediately too. Giving notice tended to not have the same restrictions, unless your boss was pissed off by it. But it did happen.

Of course, I also saw situations where the person should have had their access denied, but due to bad management in our organization retained total access, including root (root!). That came back to bite our management really badly once. It was a pleasure to see.

 

[CoolRich59]

I also saw situations where the person should have had their access denied, but due to bad management in our organization retained total access, including root (root!). That came back to bite our management really badly once. It was a pleasure to see.

That is major corporate malfeasance. That level of stupidity should hurt, a lot.

 

[kcowan]

I left megacorp on a golden handshake (even though the management said this offer was not for me but had no excuse to exclude anyone) and turned in my office access badge but continued to edit a weekly newsletter for 6 months on contract. The contract was authorized by one of my former direct reports.

Later on in my second career, I was kept on for 6 months to ensure an orderly transition. I moved away from the executive wing so the CEO would not be compromised by people talking to me.

The third time, I extended by 6 weeks to ensure an orderly transition.

(In megacorp, the only departures that were escorted out the door, were those that admitted they were going to a competitor. In one instance, I told the employee that this would happen regardless of how many weeks notice he gave, and he kept to 2 weeks even though he could have had 2 months pay!)

 

[FIREd]

DW was really secretive about her plan to leave. We had started to plan her departure 18 months before she left and talked about it to no one - not even friends because some of them had ties with her employer or coworkers. DW's employer demanded total loyalty from their employees and people suspected to be jumping ship were often treated as traitors (they once publicly humiliated an executive who was thinking of leaving to take care of his daughter who had cancer). So we decided to save ourselves some grief. We kept quiet and DW kept her team-playing employee facade until the very end. We covered up our tracks so well that DW's departure came as a complete surprise to everyone. Her boss had asked her to come to his office to congratulate her on a huge milestone and she gave him her resignation letter in exchange. His jaw hit the desk. She gave them 2 weeks notice. It was such a shock that they did not have time to get nasty with her (they had to scramble to reorganize).

Her employer went through many rounds of RIF over the years and they always kept it quiet until the official announcement was made. One day you'd come to work and you'd be laid off on the spot and escorted to the door like a criminal. So giving them 2 weeks notice seemed more than generous (employment at will is a 2-way street).

We did our own research with regards to benefits. A lot of that information (COBRA, PTO payment, etc...) is available online or in the employee benefit guide. HR was the most untrustworthy bunch. They looked after the company's interests, not the employees'. Going to HR would have been the best way to publicize our plan.

 

[traineeinvestor]

I told a couple of people I'd worked with for a long time, over twenty years in one case, over a year before I left. I made a general announcement about six months before I stepped down from partnership. It was a soft transition with a move to a very part time consulting arrangement after I FIRE'd.

It wasn't a big issue - most people congratulated me and I'm still on good terms with my former colleagues and keep in touch with some of them.

 

[ikubak]

I told my boss a year ahead of time and then gave my official resignation letter two months ahead of time. I still have one more month to go. I have been taking one or two things a day out of my office so I don't have to clear everything out at once. People coming to my office started to notice the empty shelves so my boss sent out an email to our unit so everyone would know I am leaving. Then the usual comments came...you're too young....what are you going to do? I usually ask if they remember high school and getting out for the summer. When they nod I say it's going to be like that for a long time.

 

[harley]

Then the usual comments came...you're too young....what are you going to do?

I remember hearing that a lot when I retired at 50. That was 12 years ago, and I sort of miss it.

 

[fruitful]

Smooth Exit

After 33 years, I gave 11 months notice to my manager at megacorp. In our team of 16, 3 retired this year and 2 went to part time work. The advance notification allowed time to hire and train qualified replacements. My manager was very accommodating and resonable throughout this process; he said I could stay if I changed my mind. I was assigned to get the replacements on board. This was a great assignment for me because we hired some really great people who will be strong performers and I enjoyed helping them.

As word got around, my favorite colleagues offered congratulations and seemed to be truly happy for me. Some others were openly jealous and at least one person just walked away when I said I was retiring at 55.

Lots of questions regarding what I would be doing after retirement. My stock answer, “Everything..and nothing.”

Had a nice “cake party” at the office which included a video of children describing what they thought retirement was like. Very funny since they mostly talked about how retired people are old and tired.

No hard feelings from management. Average age of employees is over 45. They are calling the retirement wave a “silver tsunami.”

 

[Walt34]

Plenty of times. I was in network security, and it was a requirement if someone quit or was fired/RIF'ed we had to remove access to corporate assets immediately (hopefully before they were informed they were fired). In the case of resigning or being RIF'ed they might keep access to the internet and HR-type systems, but that was it.

After retirement from my career job I worked at a low stress (for me) armed security job at a highly secure government computer installation. Normal retirees (to my knowledge) simply turned in their badges on the last day but someone who was fired was immediately escorted out by armed security guys.

 

[MRG]

Plenty of times. I was in network security, and it was a requirement if someone quit or was fired/RIF'ed we had to remove access to corporate assets immediately (hopefully before they were informed they were fired). In the case of resigning or being RIF'ed they might keep access to the internet and HR-type systems, but that was it. If they were fired they were walked off premises immediately too. Giving notice tended to not have the same restrictions, unless your boss was pissed off by it. But it did happen.

Of course, I also saw situations where the person should have had their access denied, but due to bad management in our organization retained total access, including root (root!). That came back to bite our management really badly once. It was a pleasure to see.

+1

I had root till the day I left. Told my manager to remove it and he joked back "you haven't used it in the last year, I know if you do there's a problem".

Honestly they had me working till the last day, I refused to make any configuration changes after giving my notice.

I was involved in discussions about changing green screen time out values after giving notice. My manager appointed me the point guy to see it through. I was talking with an audit guy to get their views and he asked if I was leaving? Well yes. "Your manager is having you own this?" "Yes, but I'm writing a word document not changing anything."

I would have in a crit sit but no way I was going to be the scape goat of implementing undocumented, unapproved, changes.

 

[Ally]

I was the director of a large nonprofit. When I told my board chair, he looked at me in shock and said "But how old are you"

When I told my coworkers, the lady who eventually got my very stressful job said "I hate you!!" And ran away crying. Later, I convinced her to apply for my position and I believe it's going well.

 

[Cayman]

Robbie, You are a high roller. I only got 150 at bass pro. True fact. But since I only spend about 20 per year on fishing that will work. I bait my own hook,

DH got $350 Bass pro cert from his team. Mega Corp (or perhaps his supervisor?) bought us dinner.
He kept his retirement quiet until about 2-3 months before the date. Prior to that, he asked HR questions about retirement/ pension benefits and told them he was "planning for the future". He was in his late 40s, so they did not think his retirement was imminent. Megacorp's HR dept. was big and fairly impersonal, does not sound like that's the OP's situation.

 

[Rambler]

I told my boss in 2009 that we needed to start considering a succession plan. I was a regional CEO with a major global megacorp. My initial proposal was to stay 3 more years, giving me 10 years total in that role. He insisted on 4 more years and offered a package in return. I found a replacement and trained him, but 3 years in, he went wonky on me. I approached my new boss and told him we had an issue with my intended replacement, and that we needed to try a new approach, but I had less than 6 months on my contract and offered to extend if he wanted me to. He had a different strategy in mind, and brought someone from outside to take my region role, and to leave my would be successor in Japan (I was a dual hatter, Japan and Asia) in place for a while longer. So we agreed I’d depart as we had scheduled but I could not announce it to anyone except my family, because I was a “named executive”. My local announcement had to coincide or follow the announcement to the markets.

So it really depends on the role you have in the company, how many and how badly the eggs will crack if word gets out too early, and even if there are legal ramifications if word gets out before official announcements are made, as was my case. Could even be an issue if the company owner is in talks to sell, with you as a key employee, but you not being aware of those negotiations. If it gets out the wrong way at the wrong time, it could kill the sale. Really, only you know the parameters on this one. Good luck.

 

[The Onceler]

Great info. Thanks all!