Resignation can be a costly affair

Fabio Capello, Silvio Berlusconi, Alberto Fujimori and the late Steve Jobs all resigned from their respective positions, albeit for different reasons.

FABIO Capello, Silvio Berlusconi, Alberto Fujimori and the late Steve Jobs have something in common. Yes, they're all great men who are/were very good at their jobs, but that's not the point we are making here.

The point is they all resigned from their respective positions, albeit for different reasons.

By now, many would have known that Capello shocked the football world this week when he quit as England manager over John Terry's strip-of-captaincy issue, or some put it bluntly, because "the FA of England backstabbed him".

Berlusconi, Capello's fellow Italian and Italy's longest-serving prime minister, stepped down late last year after a stunning week of market turmoil that had upended his defiant hold on power and threatened to tear apart the euro zone.

Fujimori's case is slightly different. He attempted to resign as President of Peru, but his resignation was refused so that the Congress could fire him.

And Jobs? Well, the visionary man had to quit as chief executive office of the company that invented iPhone, iPad and iPod due to a health problem that finally took his life.

The point here is that resignation is big news in any industry or scene when it involves public or corporate figure. Resignation is a favourite word or theme in the gossip world.

In the past few weeks, we were amused, amazed and surprised at rumours and, in some cases, realities of certain chief executives resigning or quitting in the Malaysian corporate world. Of course, this comes with the (purported) people who will replace them.

Top on the list are Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, chairman of the Securities Commission; and Tenaga Nasional Bhd president and chief executive Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamed Noh. Proton Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Salleh and its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir were also in the list.

Officially, a resignation is a personal decision to exit a position. But why do people leave their jobs?

Generally, unsatisfied employees are the ones who can easily resign from their post, although outside pressure exists in many cases.

Why are these people not happy?

There are various contributing reasons. A study pointed that this included a workplace that falls short of the expectation of an employee, and a mismatch. The latter simply means the job is not really suited to the employee.

People can also leave because of stress, being unrecognised, few opportunities to grow and lack of coaching. In the latter's case, when an employee feels his supervisors do not care about his output, he may leave and look for other jobs.

Loss of trust in the higher management also makes a compelling reason for one to resign. This is quite understandable. No employee would want to stay in an institution where leadership is deemed not reliable.

Resignation can lead to high employees' turnover, which in turn means high cost. So how can companies address the setback?

Obviously, companies must take care of their employees. This would mean giving them competitive wage packages, which include the right benefits and privileges.

More importantly, companies must continue to motivate their employees and recognise them for their efforts.

This is imperative as a non-stable workforce is a precursor to the failure of any business.