Informing customers about the death of an employee

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
53
down vote

favorite
3












If you have an employee who has an impersonal, but professional relationship with some of your customers (say, an account manager or a sales representative) and the employee passes away unexpectedly, should you inform your customers that they have passed? Or should you just treat the situation as if they have moved on from the company?



My personal preference is not to burden the customer with the knowledge - just keep it to




Sorry, $x is no longer with us. $y has taken over their role, so I will pass you on to them.




(which is the standard script for when an employee quits/fired). Then if asked why, I will then mention that the person has passed away, but not give any more details unless again asked.



Is there another way of handling the situation?







share|improve this question




























    up vote
    53
    down vote

    favorite
    3












    If you have an employee who has an impersonal, but professional relationship with some of your customers (say, an account manager or a sales representative) and the employee passes away unexpectedly, should you inform your customers that they have passed? Or should you just treat the situation as if they have moved on from the company?



    My personal preference is not to burden the customer with the knowledge - just keep it to




    Sorry, $x is no longer with us. $y has taken over their role, so I will pass you on to them.




    (which is the standard script for when an employee quits/fired). Then if asked why, I will then mention that the person has passed away, but not give any more details unless again asked.



    Is there another way of handling the situation?







    share|improve this question
























      up vote
      53
      down vote

      favorite
      3









      up vote
      53
      down vote

      favorite
      3






      3





      If you have an employee who has an impersonal, but professional relationship with some of your customers (say, an account manager or a sales representative) and the employee passes away unexpectedly, should you inform your customers that they have passed? Or should you just treat the situation as if they have moved on from the company?



      My personal preference is not to burden the customer with the knowledge - just keep it to




      Sorry, $x is no longer with us. $y has taken over their role, so I will pass you on to them.




      (which is the standard script for when an employee quits/fired). Then if asked why, I will then mention that the person has passed away, but not give any more details unless again asked.



      Is there another way of handling the situation?







      share|improve this question














      If you have an employee who has an impersonal, but professional relationship with some of your customers (say, an account manager or a sales representative) and the employee passes away unexpectedly, should you inform your customers that they have passed? Or should you just treat the situation as if they have moved on from the company?



      My personal preference is not to burden the customer with the knowledge - just keep it to




      Sorry, $x is no longer with us. $y has taken over their role, so I will pass you on to them.




      (which is the standard script for when an employee quits/fired). Then if asked why, I will then mention that the person has passed away, but not give any more details unless again asked.



      Is there another way of handling the situation?









      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Apr 10 '17 at 11:47









      Konerak

      2,57711426




      2,57711426










      asked Feb 16 '14 at 23:22









      Mark Henderson

      5531523




      5531523




















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          51
          down vote













          While it may seem like a good approach to sweep the news of your employees passing under the rug, it's important to remember that despite this being business, people are still human. If the employee in question played a major role in solving problems for your clients and has built a relationship with those clients, you'll most likely want to let everyone know in a timely manner.



          According to a TechRepublic article, 10 tips for Handling the Death of an Employee, you should announce this news to all employees in an in-person meeting. For clients, this may be tougher and may depend on how many clients your employee worked for. The rationale behind a personal announcement to employees is based on the strong relationship bonds that form between coworkers.



          Thus, if your employee was a major accounts representative and, let's say, was working directly with 3 to 5 clients, you'll more than likely want to contact them each individually to let them know the news. But if your employee worked with a hundred clients, and those clients may not likely know the employee, then an official email BCC'ed to all clients would be appropriate. Some clients may not care, some will. But those that knew your employee will more than likely appreciate you taking the time to share the news.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 4




            That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
            – Mark Henderson
            Feb 16 '14 at 23:37






          • 2




            Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
            – jmort253♦
            Feb 16 '14 at 23:42







          • 2




            @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
            – Elysian Fields♦
            Feb 17 '14 at 0:54

















          up vote
          30
          down vote













          The only reason not to tell the client is because you personally don't want to have a potentially awkward conversation. But the client may want to know because he might want to attend the funeral or send a sympathy card. (I got cards from clients when my beloved died). He might want to know because he will assume there was a turnover of information and be mad when it becomes clear that there was not.



          This is especially true if they had some phone discussion just prior to the death that the new person may know nothing about. (It can also be a problem if you do not give the new person access to the emails of the person who died so they don't have any of the history that is stored in the emails, especially the most recent ones.) A client is more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt as initial issues arise due to the new person not knowing something, if they know that there is no way the old person can be asked. So for business reasons, you will likely maintain better client relations if you tell them.






          share|improve this answer





























            up vote
            3
            down vote













            Depending on the depth of the relationship, I could imagine passing along the passing in some cases. If the customer often called the employee or it is a customer that has worked with this person for a long time like a decade or more, then it isn't burdening but rather showing that you want this person to know something that they may not know. On the other hand, if the customer is fairly new, then what you've outlined would be fine.






            share|improve this answer



























              up vote
              1
              down vote













              This should be expressed to the same degree it is expressed within a professional business. For smaller businesses there will likely be an in-person group meeting-- but if the business is large or corporate in nature, with more than one location, chances are it will come out in a company-wide email. The same email should probably go out to all the major clients (bcc, or individually), in a professional manner. "We regret to inform you...".



              This is probably also a good opportunity for the business to express confidence in the required transfer of responsibility to another person, or to defer that discussion to a msg to follow.



              The one exception I might note is if the business is small or one in which most of the business relationships are in-person or direct on phone. In those cases, it might be wise to pass the message on via the same means; and also offer confidence in the transfer of responsibility.






              share|improve this answer




















                Your Answer







                StackExchange.ready(function()
                var channelOptions =
                tags: "".split(" "),
                id: "423"
                ;
                initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

                StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
                // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
                if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
                StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
                createEditor();
                );

                else
                createEditor();

                );

                function createEditor()
                StackExchange.prepareEditor(
                heartbeatType: 'answer',
                convertImagesToLinks: false,
                noModals: false,
                showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
                reputationToPostImages: null,
                bindNavPrevention: true,
                postfix: "",
                noCode: true, onDemand: false,
                discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
                ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
                );



                );








                 

                draft saved


                draft discarded


















                StackExchange.ready(
                function ()
                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f19361%2finforming-customers-about-the-death-of-an-employee%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                );

                Post as a guest

























                StackExchange.ready(function ()
                $("#show-editor-button input, #show-editor-button button").click(function ()
                var showEditor = function()
                $("#show-editor-button").hide();
                $("#post-form").removeClass("dno");
                StackExchange.editor.finallyInit();
                ;

                var useFancy = $(this).data('confirm-use-fancy');
                if(useFancy == 'True')
                var popupTitle = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-title');
                var popupBody = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-body');
                var popupAccept = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-accept-button');

                $(this).loadPopup(
                url: '/post/self-answer-popup',
                loaded: function(popup)
                var pTitle = $(popup).find('h2');
                var pBody = $(popup).find('.popup-body');
                var pSubmit = $(popup).find('.popup-submit');

                pTitle.text(popupTitle);
                pBody.html(popupBody);
                pSubmit.val(popupAccept).click(showEditor);

                )
                else
                var confirmText = $(this).data('confirm-text');
                if (confirmText ? confirm(confirmText) : true)
                showEditor();


                );
                );






                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes








                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                51
                down vote













                While it may seem like a good approach to sweep the news of your employees passing under the rug, it's important to remember that despite this being business, people are still human. If the employee in question played a major role in solving problems for your clients and has built a relationship with those clients, you'll most likely want to let everyone know in a timely manner.



                According to a TechRepublic article, 10 tips for Handling the Death of an Employee, you should announce this news to all employees in an in-person meeting. For clients, this may be tougher and may depend on how many clients your employee worked for. The rationale behind a personal announcement to employees is based on the strong relationship bonds that form between coworkers.



                Thus, if your employee was a major accounts representative and, let's say, was working directly with 3 to 5 clients, you'll more than likely want to contact them each individually to let them know the news. But if your employee worked with a hundred clients, and those clients may not likely know the employee, then an official email BCC'ed to all clients would be appropriate. Some clients may not care, some will. But those that knew your employee will more than likely appreciate you taking the time to share the news.






                share|improve this answer
















                • 4




                  That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                  – Mark Henderson
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:37






                • 2




                  Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                  – jmort253♦
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:42







                • 2




                  @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                  – Elysian Fields♦
                  Feb 17 '14 at 0:54














                up vote
                51
                down vote













                While it may seem like a good approach to sweep the news of your employees passing under the rug, it's important to remember that despite this being business, people are still human. If the employee in question played a major role in solving problems for your clients and has built a relationship with those clients, you'll most likely want to let everyone know in a timely manner.



                According to a TechRepublic article, 10 tips for Handling the Death of an Employee, you should announce this news to all employees in an in-person meeting. For clients, this may be tougher and may depend on how many clients your employee worked for. The rationale behind a personal announcement to employees is based on the strong relationship bonds that form between coworkers.



                Thus, if your employee was a major accounts representative and, let's say, was working directly with 3 to 5 clients, you'll more than likely want to contact them each individually to let them know the news. But if your employee worked with a hundred clients, and those clients may not likely know the employee, then an official email BCC'ed to all clients would be appropriate. Some clients may not care, some will. But those that knew your employee will more than likely appreciate you taking the time to share the news.






                share|improve this answer
















                • 4




                  That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                  – Mark Henderson
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:37






                • 2




                  Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                  – jmort253♦
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:42







                • 2




                  @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                  – Elysian Fields♦
                  Feb 17 '14 at 0:54












                up vote
                51
                down vote










                up vote
                51
                down vote









                While it may seem like a good approach to sweep the news of your employees passing under the rug, it's important to remember that despite this being business, people are still human. If the employee in question played a major role in solving problems for your clients and has built a relationship with those clients, you'll most likely want to let everyone know in a timely manner.



                According to a TechRepublic article, 10 tips for Handling the Death of an Employee, you should announce this news to all employees in an in-person meeting. For clients, this may be tougher and may depend on how many clients your employee worked for. The rationale behind a personal announcement to employees is based on the strong relationship bonds that form between coworkers.



                Thus, if your employee was a major accounts representative and, let's say, was working directly with 3 to 5 clients, you'll more than likely want to contact them each individually to let them know the news. But if your employee worked with a hundred clients, and those clients may not likely know the employee, then an official email BCC'ed to all clients would be appropriate. Some clients may not care, some will. But those that knew your employee will more than likely appreciate you taking the time to share the news.






                share|improve this answer












                While it may seem like a good approach to sweep the news of your employees passing under the rug, it's important to remember that despite this being business, people are still human. If the employee in question played a major role in solving problems for your clients and has built a relationship with those clients, you'll most likely want to let everyone know in a timely manner.



                According to a TechRepublic article, 10 tips for Handling the Death of an Employee, you should announce this news to all employees in an in-person meeting. For clients, this may be tougher and may depend on how many clients your employee worked for. The rationale behind a personal announcement to employees is based on the strong relationship bonds that form between coworkers.



                Thus, if your employee was a major accounts representative and, let's say, was working directly with 3 to 5 clients, you'll more than likely want to contact them each individually to let them know the news. But if your employee worked with a hundred clients, and those clients may not likely know the employee, then an official email BCC'ed to all clients would be appropriate. Some clients may not care, some will. But those that knew your employee will more than likely appreciate you taking the time to share the news.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Feb 16 '14 at 23:33









                jmort253♦

                10.4k54376




                10.4k54376







                • 4




                  That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                  – Mark Henderson
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:37






                • 2




                  Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                  – jmort253♦
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:42







                • 2




                  @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                  – Elysian Fields♦
                  Feb 17 '14 at 0:54












                • 4




                  That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                  – Mark Henderson
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:37






                • 2




                  Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                  – jmort253♦
                  Feb 16 '14 at 23:42







                • 2




                  @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                  – Elysian Fields♦
                  Feb 17 '14 at 0:54







                4




                4




                That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                – Mark Henderson
                Feb 16 '14 at 23:37




                That's a good article; especially regarding re-recording the voicemail message. I find it exceedingly eery to hear the voice of a deceased person so soon after the event.
                – Mark Henderson
                Feb 16 '14 at 23:37




                2




                2




                Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                – jmort253♦
                Feb 16 '14 at 23:42





                Some places don't do this though. I know of a company that left a user's login in the system. None of us could actually make the move to delete that person's login. It was like we were keeping them alive somehow. Maybe a more middle ground approach would be to reduce all permissions to read-only or reduce access to the absolute bare minimum.
                – jmort253♦
                Feb 16 '14 at 23:42





                2




                2




                @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                – Elysian Fields♦
                Feb 17 '14 at 0:54




                @jmort253 xkcd.com/686
                – Elysian Fields♦
                Feb 17 '14 at 0:54












                up vote
                30
                down vote













                The only reason not to tell the client is because you personally don't want to have a potentially awkward conversation. But the client may want to know because he might want to attend the funeral or send a sympathy card. (I got cards from clients when my beloved died). He might want to know because he will assume there was a turnover of information and be mad when it becomes clear that there was not.



                This is especially true if they had some phone discussion just prior to the death that the new person may know nothing about. (It can also be a problem if you do not give the new person access to the emails of the person who died so they don't have any of the history that is stored in the emails, especially the most recent ones.) A client is more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt as initial issues arise due to the new person not knowing something, if they know that there is no way the old person can be asked. So for business reasons, you will likely maintain better client relations if you tell them.






                share|improve this answer


























                  up vote
                  30
                  down vote













                  The only reason not to tell the client is because you personally don't want to have a potentially awkward conversation. But the client may want to know because he might want to attend the funeral or send a sympathy card. (I got cards from clients when my beloved died). He might want to know because he will assume there was a turnover of information and be mad when it becomes clear that there was not.



                  This is especially true if they had some phone discussion just prior to the death that the new person may know nothing about. (It can also be a problem if you do not give the new person access to the emails of the person who died so they don't have any of the history that is stored in the emails, especially the most recent ones.) A client is more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt as initial issues arise due to the new person not knowing something, if they know that there is no way the old person can be asked. So for business reasons, you will likely maintain better client relations if you tell them.






                  share|improve this answer
























                    up vote
                    30
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    30
                    down vote









                    The only reason not to tell the client is because you personally don't want to have a potentially awkward conversation. But the client may want to know because he might want to attend the funeral or send a sympathy card. (I got cards from clients when my beloved died). He might want to know because he will assume there was a turnover of information and be mad when it becomes clear that there was not.



                    This is especially true if they had some phone discussion just prior to the death that the new person may know nothing about. (It can also be a problem if you do not give the new person access to the emails of the person who died so they don't have any of the history that is stored in the emails, especially the most recent ones.) A client is more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt as initial issues arise due to the new person not knowing something, if they know that there is no way the old person can be asked. So for business reasons, you will likely maintain better client relations if you tell them.






                    share|improve this answer














                    The only reason not to tell the client is because you personally don't want to have a potentially awkward conversation. But the client may want to know because he might want to attend the funeral or send a sympathy card. (I got cards from clients when my beloved died). He might want to know because he will assume there was a turnover of information and be mad when it becomes clear that there was not.



                    This is especially true if they had some phone discussion just prior to the death that the new person may know nothing about. (It can also be a problem if you do not give the new person access to the emails of the person who died so they don't have any of the history that is stored in the emails, especially the most recent ones.) A client is more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt as initial issues arise due to the new person not knowing something, if they know that there is no way the old person can be asked. So for business reasons, you will likely maintain better client relations if you tell them.







                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited Feb 17 '14 at 2:53









                    jmort253♦

                    10.4k54376




                    10.4k54376










                    answered Feb 17 '14 at 2:00









                    HLGEM

                    133k25227489




                    133k25227489




















                        up vote
                        3
                        down vote













                        Depending on the depth of the relationship, I could imagine passing along the passing in some cases. If the customer often called the employee or it is a customer that has worked with this person for a long time like a decade or more, then it isn't burdening but rather showing that you want this person to know something that they may not know. On the other hand, if the customer is fairly new, then what you've outlined would be fine.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote













                          Depending on the depth of the relationship, I could imagine passing along the passing in some cases. If the customer often called the employee or it is a customer that has worked with this person for a long time like a decade or more, then it isn't burdening but rather showing that you want this person to know something that they may not know. On the other hand, if the customer is fairly new, then what you've outlined would be fine.






                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            3
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            3
                            down vote









                            Depending on the depth of the relationship, I could imagine passing along the passing in some cases. If the customer often called the employee or it is a customer that has worked with this person for a long time like a decade or more, then it isn't burdening but rather showing that you want this person to know something that they may not know. On the other hand, if the customer is fairly new, then what you've outlined would be fine.






                            share|improve this answer












                            Depending on the depth of the relationship, I could imagine passing along the passing in some cases. If the customer often called the employee or it is a customer that has worked with this person for a long time like a decade or more, then it isn't burdening but rather showing that you want this person to know something that they may not know. On the other hand, if the customer is fairly new, then what you've outlined would be fine.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Feb 16 '14 at 23:27









                            JB King

                            15.1k22957




                            15.1k22957




















                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                This should be expressed to the same degree it is expressed within a professional business. For smaller businesses there will likely be an in-person group meeting-- but if the business is large or corporate in nature, with more than one location, chances are it will come out in a company-wide email. The same email should probably go out to all the major clients (bcc, or individually), in a professional manner. "We regret to inform you...".



                                This is probably also a good opportunity for the business to express confidence in the required transfer of responsibility to another person, or to defer that discussion to a msg to follow.



                                The one exception I might note is if the business is small or one in which most of the business relationships are in-person or direct on phone. In those cases, it might be wise to pass the message on via the same means; and also offer confidence in the transfer of responsibility.






                                share|improve this answer
























                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote













                                  This should be expressed to the same degree it is expressed within a professional business. For smaller businesses there will likely be an in-person group meeting-- but if the business is large or corporate in nature, with more than one location, chances are it will come out in a company-wide email. The same email should probably go out to all the major clients (bcc, or individually), in a professional manner. "We regret to inform you...".



                                  This is probably also a good opportunity for the business to express confidence in the required transfer of responsibility to another person, or to defer that discussion to a msg to follow.



                                  The one exception I might note is if the business is small or one in which most of the business relationships are in-person or direct on phone. In those cases, it might be wise to pass the message on via the same means; and also offer confidence in the transfer of responsibility.






                                  share|improve this answer






















                                    up vote
                                    1
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    1
                                    down vote









                                    This should be expressed to the same degree it is expressed within a professional business. For smaller businesses there will likely be an in-person group meeting-- but if the business is large or corporate in nature, with more than one location, chances are it will come out in a company-wide email. The same email should probably go out to all the major clients (bcc, or individually), in a professional manner. "We regret to inform you...".



                                    This is probably also a good opportunity for the business to express confidence in the required transfer of responsibility to another person, or to defer that discussion to a msg to follow.



                                    The one exception I might note is if the business is small or one in which most of the business relationships are in-person or direct on phone. In those cases, it might be wise to pass the message on via the same means; and also offer confidence in the transfer of responsibility.






                                    share|improve this answer












                                    This should be expressed to the same degree it is expressed within a professional business. For smaller businesses there will likely be an in-person group meeting-- but if the business is large or corporate in nature, with more than one location, chances are it will come out in a company-wide email. The same email should probably go out to all the major clients (bcc, or individually), in a professional manner. "We regret to inform you...".



                                    This is probably also a good opportunity for the business to express confidence in the required transfer of responsibility to another person, or to defer that discussion to a msg to follow.



                                    The one exception I might note is if the business is small or one in which most of the business relationships are in-person or direct on phone. In those cases, it might be wise to pass the message on via the same means; and also offer confidence in the transfer of responsibility.







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered Feb 17 '14 at 14:04









                                    Miro

                                    2,83441626




                                    2,83441626






















                                         

                                        draft saved


                                        draft discarded


























                                         


                                        draft saved


                                        draft discarded














                                        StackExchange.ready(
                                        function ()
                                        StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f19361%2finforming-customers-about-the-death-of-an-employee%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                                        );

                                        Post as a guest

















































































                                        Comments

                                        Popular posts from this blog

                                        What does second last employer means? [closed]

                                        List of Gilmore Girls characters

                                        Confectionery