TRAIN AND GAIN: Training your replacement can be irksome but your severance package may depend upon it

Q. Your job is being moved to a region with lower labour costs and your boss has asked you to train your replacement. How should you respond?

A. Even if you feel betrayed, it is wise to stay calm and professional, said Wally Bock, president of Three Star Leadership, a consulting firm in Greensboro, North Carolina. “Anything less can cost you in reputation,” he said. “Your job is already gone and the new person has already been selected. It’s up to you to control your downside risk.”

Q. How widespread is this situation?

A. It is increasingly common. In an effort to cut costs, many companies are shifting to cheaper labour sources: freelancers, temporary workers, even computer programmes that automate tasks altogether. Another trend is offshoring — moving jobs overseas. Companies often turn to departing employees for help in the transition. In some cases, managers ask nicely. Sometimes, the request is accompanied by a suggestion of unpleasant consequences if you fail to comply.

Last month, when Bank of America announced that it was moving about 100 positions out of its Concord, California, office to India, officials told employees that their severance packages could be contingent upon completing their jobs satisfactorily.

Scott A. Moss, professor of employment law at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said that this strategy was perfectly legal because companies are not bound to offer severance of any kind. “Severance can be a carrot to get employees to train new staff,” Moss said.

Q.How should you approach the training?

A.Feelings of anger, resentment and betrayal would be perfectly understandable in a case like this, Moss said, and you might feel an urge to spread misinformation out of spite. Still, he said, employees should not act on these impulses.

Deborah Brown-Volkman, president of Surpass Your Dreams, a career coaching firm in East Moriches, NY, suggested trying to view the training sessions as your last opportunity to offer a positive contribution to the business. “You gain nothing by going into the training with an attitude,” said Brown-Volkman, author of Coach Yourself to a New Career: A Guide for Discovering Your Ultimate Profession (iUniverse, 2003). “Nobody says you have to be extra-friendly; just tell the person what he needs to know and move on.”

Q.What knowledge are you expected to share?

A. Bosses usually lay out their expectations. The list is likely to include only the crucial stuff, like computer files, contact lists and procedural protocols. Beyond this, Cathy L. Greenberg, president of Happy People and Healthy Companies, a consulting firm in Tucson, said employees should pass along everything they perceive as necessary for a “base capability” to do the job. If you are unsure if something is important, she said, it probably isn’t.

“No matter what the scenario, you want to make sure your replacement has enough knowledge to be successful,” she said. “You can’t give them experience, but you can give them the heads-up about things that they may need to home in on.” Employees may also choose to share less obvious information on their own — data that may not be crucial but is still relevant to getting the job done. Hamilton Beazley, scholar in residence at St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, said this “implicit” information could be anything from observations of team dynamics to insights about a particular manager’s leadership style. In discussing such matters, he said, employees should be careful not to appear negative or bitter. “You certainly don’t want to go on record saying, “This is the person who will backstab you,” said Beazley, author of No Regrets: A 10-Step Program for Living in the Present and Leaving the Past Behind (Wiley & Sons, 2004). “Pass along helpful information, but be careful not to endanger your own reputation in the process.”

Q.Should you offer to provide additional support after you leave?

A.Once you have fulfilled your boss’s training requests, you are no longer obligated to lend expertise of any kind. Still, if you’re hoping to receive a favourable recommendation for your next job, Paul R. DiModica, president of Digital Hatch, a consulting firm in Atlanta, said it might pay to make yourself available to your successor for additional assistance as needed.

DiModica said that welcoming an old boss or a recent successor into your personal network could actually improve your chances of finding employment again soon. “Look at it as a marketing opportunity,” DiModica said. “You don’t have to be nice to them once you leave, but there’s absolutely no reason to burn a bridge when you might be able to turn the situation into a useful reference later in your career.”