What Happens When We Treat Exits as Afterthoughts?
Why Offboarding Deserves as Much Attention as Onboarding.
how we leave shapes how we move forward
I’ve worked with trail blazing HR leaders who are deeply committed to creating people-first workplaces.
They care deeply about the entire employee journey from welcoming, inclusive onboarding and skills-based learning and development opportunities to developing leaders from within. Even redundancy is well thought out.
Yet, with all the recent headlines around redundancies, many organisations are still missing the mark when it comes to managing exits thoughtfully.
This isn’t due to a lack of care or concern from HR but because the business often misunderstands the cost of doing it well, viewing it as too expensive (an outdated misconception).
So here’s a difficult truth I’ve seen firsthand:
All the goodwill you’ve built through years of great hiring, onboarding, and engagement can unravel in a single poorly handled layoff.
That’s why I believe career transition coaching isn’t a luxury for the senior leadership team.
But for all impact employees.
It’s a quiet, powerful, and necessary act of cultural leadership.
Why Redundancy Needs Coaching - Not Just Communication
We often think of coaching as something we offer to high-potentials or new leaders. But the moment of redundancy may be when people need coaching the most.
When someone is told they’re being let go, they’re not just losing a job. They’re losing identity, routine, community, and sometimes, self-worth.
That moment is raw. Emotional. Charged.
And whether it happens to 15 or 1,500 people, the impact echoes far beyond the “your job is at risk” email.
Career transitions coaching helps people:
Process shock and overwhelm
Reframe what’s happening and find a sense of agency
Get clear on next steps from CVs to interviews to clarity
Help people think about the chance to do that thing they have always dreamed of but never that the right moment
Leave with more confidence, not just a box of their belongings
I've coached people through these transitions. And I’ve watched how coaching can turn a painful moment into a turning point. From hopeless to hopeful.
The Risk of Not Offering Support
Let’s look at it from the company’s side.
If a departing employee is left without support, the consequences are rarely contained:
They vent on LinkedIn or Glassdoor
Those staying wonder, “Am I next?”
Productivity dips and survivors begin job hunting
Your next brilliant candidate hesitates to apply or accept your offer
And suddenly, the employer brand you’ve spent years building is damaged.
As one HR leader told me recently:
“We created a great onboarding experience. But when redundancies happened, we didn’t have a plan. It created fear and we lost more people than we needed to.”
A Tale of Two Exits: Airbnb vs P&O Ferries
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Airbnb was severely impacted and made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce by 25%. They did it with transparency, care, and coaching support.
The CEO wrote a heartfelt letter. Employees received transition resources. Many left with their heads held high and publicly thanked the company.
Contrast that with P&O Ferries, which laid off 800 employees over a pre-recorded Zoom message. No support. No dialogue. No humanity. The backlash was swift - legal battles, social condemnation, and long-term reputational damage.
Both companies had to make tough decisions. Only one protected its values while doing so.
“But We’re in Cost-Cutting Mode. Can We Afford Coaching?”
It’s the most common question I get from HR and finance teams.
And the answer is: You can’t afford not to.
The cost of one bad exit ( in reputation, trust, and turnover and risk of grievances) far outweigh the investment in coaching.
And the good news? Coaching today is scalable and flexible. You don’t need to break the bank.
Options include:
Group coaching sessions for teams or departments
Short-term coaching packages (3–6 months) focused on career transitions
Blended models with digital platform and live coaching
On-demand coaching partners tailored to your organisation’s culture and budget
As Randstad’s Workmonitor 2024 points out, smart organisations are turning to cost-effective coaching as a key part of their transition planning.
From ROI to ROE: The Return on Empathy
You already track ROI on engagement, retention, and performance.
But career transition coaching gives you something harder to measure and far more enduring:
Return on Empathy.
It shows up in what people say after they leave.
In the stories they tell about your company.
In the trust your current team feels when they see how you treat others.
And in the confidence with which new candidates apply to open roles or accept your offers - knowing you don’t just talk values, you live them.
Final Thoughts: Everyone Remembers Their First Day - But No One Forgets Their Last
I’ll leave you with this:
We invest so much in making people feel welcome when they join.
We give them onboarding buddies, swag boxes, coaching.
But doesn’t how we say goodbye matter just as much?
Career transition coaching isn’t about softening a blow. It’s about showing people that they still matter even as they walk out the door.
And when you do that well, the impact lives on in your culture, your brand, and your people’s trust.
I offer tailored 121 coaching for leaders, managers, and individual contributors. As a more cost-effective option, I also offer group coaching and workshops on topics such as - how to navigate the job market, interviewing with impact, and how to leverage your network. These sessions are designed to look after your departing employees, protect your brand, and uphold the culture you've worked so hard to build.
Let’s talk about how we can make exits more human.
