I often think about a popular phrase at UConn: “Students today, Huskies forever.” In my case, it’s very true. I will always have UConn pride from my years there, and I root for the Huskies whenever I can.
A former colleague of mine used to refer to former employees as alumni, and I love that thought. It is a healthy and realistic way to see employment. Every employee you have will someday be a former employee.
I still pick up an ice cream at Friendly’s. I still order a steak at Outback. When I bought my new place in 2025, Cardinal was my lender. When I see Legrand products in stores, I feel proud of how the company has grown. I worked for all four, and I have fond memories of each one. What I remember most about each of them is how the relationship ended.
This essay is for the owners and leaders on the other side of that moment. How your leaders handle an exit shapes how a person thinks of you for years. Your former employee can be your greatest advocate or your worst enemy.
The goodbye people remember
I left Cardinal after nearly seven years. I gave a long notice to help the team through the transition, and my COO noticed. He thanked me for it and for my service, and he told me he would be happy to write me a referral, even if I called ten years later. My CEO called me personally to say he was excited for me and the opportunity.
Neither gesture cost the company any money, but these gestures meant so much to me. To this day, I recommend Cardinal to others.
I’ve also experienced the opposite, and it still hurts. I put everything I had into another company, even at times to the detriment of my family and my mental health. I was told that I was a high performer and a high-potential employee, and my reviews and compensation affirmed that understanding of my performance. I gave a long notice so I could transition in-flight work well. Within days, I was told to go. My pay and my benefits ended early, and I packed my office into one box while my leader watched. I felt like a criminal, and that feeling has not gone away.
The years of goodwill that employer earned were lost in 20 minutes through a poorly handled conversation. That is the cost I want every leader to understand.
Where exits turn into risk
In a study of nearly 1,000 workers who had recently been fired or laid off, 0.4% of the people who felt they were treated with a great deal of dignity and respect reported filing a claim against their former employer. Among the people who felt they received no dignity or respect at all, 14.9% reported filing. Explanations mattered just as much: 1.7% of people who received a complete explanation reported filing, compared with 20.3% of people who received none.
In my experience, escalations take more than surprise. The exits that escalate lack sufficient information, deviate from the company’s standard practices, and leave the employee feeling wronged or disrespected. I once watched a departure catch an employee completely off guard. She took her concerns straight to the top of the company, and the fallout included a review of her whole team’s practices.
The risk grows with every leader you add
As a company grows, exits move from the owner to managers and directors, and each of them becomes a point of risk. A leader who cannot navigate an exit well can turn a routine departure into a complaint, a claim, or a story that follows your brand for years.
The people who stay are watching as well. Glassdoor studied nearly 300,000 reviews at companies that ran layoffs between 2021 and 2025. Current employees’ ratings dropped and took an estimated 32 months to recover, and their applications to other jobs rose 40% within a year.
For larger organizations, start here:
Train leaders before they need it. Walk them through both a voluntary and an involuntary exit before they face a real one.
Keep a standard practice, and follow it. When a leader wants to shorten a notice period or end someone’s employment early, bring HR into that decision before anyone talks to the employee.
Give a real explanation. A clear, honest reason is one of the simplest protections you have.
Let people respond. When a concern comes up about someone who is leaving, give them a chance to answer it before a decision is made.
What every owner can do
Thank the exiting employee first. Before anything else, recognize their service to your company.
Ask whether they would come back. I have seen plenty of boomerang careers, and I have always felt that people wanting to come back is a signal of a good culture. Returning employees may also need less training and get back up to speed faster than a new hire.
Talk through the transition. If someone works a notice, thank them for it. They do not have to be there to help, so call it out.
Pay out the notice when you cannot accept it. When someone cannot work a notice, often because they are going to a competitor, pay it out. Don’t nickel and dime someone leaving, especially if you hope they return one day.
One thing to do Monday
Write a script for exits, one for voluntary departures and one for involuntary ones, and make sure every leader has read them. Both scripts should start with a thank you for the person’s service. If you would like help preparing exit scripts and talking points for your leaders, I would love to hear what you are working through. You can reach me at erin@gloverco.ai.
Your alumni
People leave jobs, and they can still carry loyalty for the places that shaped them, the same way I carry it for UConn. I carry it for Friendly’s, for Outback, for Cardinal and for Legrand. Some employers I’ve worked at no longer deserve my loyalty, but I will always root for the incredible people I had an opportunity to work alongside.
Every person who leaves your company becomes one of your alumni. They can be a customer, a referral source, a member of your community, and maybe one day a returning employee. Let them leave well, and they will carry you with them. Employee today, alum forever.