When an employee leaves are you prepared? Do you know the status of his or her projects, the due dates for deliverables, and where the key phone numbers and files are located? Here are some general ground rules to ensure that you are prepared for the inevitable turnover of employees.

Be prepared
Cross-train employees, and have weekly status meetings between supervisors and staff. This will help to ensure preparedness. Develop succession or replacement plans for all employees at all levels. Upon notification of termination, immediately implement the plan. Prioritize the employee's responsibilities and, if a replacement can't be hired quickly, assign those responsibilities to others in the firm.

In the best possible situation, set aside a few days for the employee to transfer responsibilities to a new hire. If this is not possible, have the employee that's leaving train the employee(s) assigned for the interim.

To ensure the smoothest transition and minimize impact on your clients and staff, have the new hire, or interim staff member and a supervisor, work closely with the departing staff member to accomplish the following:

• List all tasks assigned to the employee
• Understand all current projects, the status of each, and the due date
• Collect all client and project related contact information
• Locate pertinent computer documents and paper files

You may not be able to control turnover – it happens no matter how good a manager you are – but you can take action to limit the impact on you, your staff, company and clients.