HR's worst nightmare: The peak season to jump ship is officially here

Although company's will have tried very hard to retain talent over the past year, it is common practice for the Hong Kong working class to hand in their resignation after Lunar New Year - or more specifically, after they have been paid their year-end bonus.

This new year, new job situation is a nightmare for the human resources department, not in the least because of the high number of reference letters the department has to issue on a daily basis for departing staff.

A presentable reference letter is not only about helping colleagues find their next job, it also says a lot about the employer brand.

HR Potato has listed out a few tips to help the HR team create the perfect reference letter. We've summarised them here.

The reason why someone left their job is a key element of a reference letter. The worst thing that could happen is giving potential employers the impression that the candidate was fired from his or her previous job, so it is very important to be clear about the reason for leaving.

The three most common scenarios are "resign of his/her own accord", "redundancy", and "contract complete". Providing this information in a reference letter will avoid any unnecessary speculations over why the candidate left the job, saving your fellow HR practitioners valuable time on reference checks.

The efficiency in issuing reference letters is also very important. Without a reference letter, your former employee will need to delay the start date at their new job. Do your fellow HR practitioners a favour and issue reference letters quickly, so they won't be chased by hiring managers.

ALSO READ: How to tell if your staff is planning to jump ship

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