When he returned the call, a member of the bank’s management team fired off a barrage of questions about how to submit an RFP (Request for Proposal).
The team was desperate; an important RFP, to the tune of $20 million, was already three days late. Remaining management didn’t know how to do RFPs, and as I've warned, the bank failed to have a system in place to handle such functions, previously refusing to fork over for the automation. Duh.
Get this…Daniel works for their competitor now! They were so lost that they were willing to contact Daniel at his new place of employment.
To make matters worse, this bank (whose name remains anonymous to prevent obvious panic) has no system in place to remove all the connections that Daniel had with their former clients.
Perhaps decision makers thought that Daniel wouldn’t leave, so they weren't thinking systems and structure, they were thinking people first. But any time people leave, so may the talent to do the simple things leave with them.
Daniel, on the other hand, thought they would fill his shoes the minute he left. Nope. Weeks after the executive’s departure, no one was doing his job, and the position hadn’t been removed (meaning someone still needed to perform Daniel’s functions). Top brass had not thought the process through.
In fact, they left the entire bank wide open for damage. Daniel, after the call, decided to phone his old extension line to see if his previous employer had re-routed the phones. They hadn’t. His voice mail box was still getting messages, and the number of calls was quite significant. No one was getting back to these clients, sales executives, or employees.
So how do you mitigate the loss of important data, key relationships, and productivity when you lose a valuable employee? Here are three things to think about and do:
1. Automate, automate, automate. Companies should systematically control information, the connections between people, and daily processes for functional roles. RFP steps, like any other function, should never be controlled by a single individual, because the imbalance places the firm in a vulnerable position.
2. Strategize for employee turnover: hiring, firing, and friendly departures. You can’t afford to screw up by leaving a major position open and just as bad, not tying up loose ends, like leaving a phone line uncovered. When hiring, automate so that at the flick of a switch, your new hire is equipped with a computer, set up with a 401K, receives personalized letterhead, etc. When handling the exiting of an employee, the process should be as clearly automated.
3. Plan as you go. Plan for the unexpected, try to foresee future obstacles. That’s why you’re paid to think. When you build tools that require employees to input information in order to help them facilitate doing their jobs, you make success easier to achieve in the present and you put in place systems that make success happen regardless of who is in the position in the future.
If Daniel were a different kind of person, his past employer could be in deep trouble. So the lesson is this; implement technology and automation to insure a continuity of functions AND do it well so as to lock virtual doors behind a departing employee. By anticipating your firm’s needs in the event that you lose a key employee, you safeguard the firm against future unforeseen problems. Now that’s money in the bank.
