You invest time and resources into your employees and depend on them to keep your business running day-to-day. So, what happens when one of your key employees leaves to pursue a new opportunity? These are the four steps you should take to keep your business running smoothly.

1. Don’t Try to Take Action Immediately

Start by having a conversation. Ask the employee why they’ve decided to leave. Because this is a key employee and likely someone who you’ve depended on in the company, you might also ask if there’s anything you can do to retain the employee. An exit interview will be part of the process later, but in the moment, you can get some immediate feedback about what brought on the decision and could potentially help you keep them in the company.

As a leader, you need to choose your words and actions wisely, as your reaction will set the tone for how others will respond to the news of a key employee leaving the company. If the employee does ultimately decide to leave the company, take the time to decide how and when to announce the news to others. You might be frustrated or even angry about the key employee leaving, especially if the decision is coming at an inconvenient time. Deal with your personal feelings about the situation before relaying the news to others to keep morale high and keep your business running as usual.

2. Communicate with Employees and Stakeholders

When one employee leaves, many people will be affected. Start with key stakeholders. From business partners to board members, think of the people who need to be in the know about this major change in the business. Those stakeholders with years of experience in running businesses will have likely dealt with similar situations. According to a survey from Robert Half, 75% of employees ages 18 to 34 and 59% of employees 35 to 54 view job-hopping as beneficial. While this can be frustrating for business leaders, it also means that your advisors will likely have advice about how to handle losing a key employee.

When sharing the news with employees, the way that you time and frame the message will be important. Make the announcement as soon as possible to prevent rumors from starting and quickly spreading through the company. Keep the message short and to the point, explaining that the employee is leaving on their own, not being let go by the company, and sharing that leadership has a plan to move forward with minimal interruption.

3. Decide How to Best Replace Key Skills

Before beginning the recruiting or promoting process, take time to look at what skills your former employee brought to the position and what responsibilities will need to be taken over by a new employee. When you have a list of skills and qualifications, you can start the search for the right replacement.

Look at current employees who might qualify for a promotion. Promoting from within the company could allow you to choose an individual who already has experience in the department or even working on key projects that will need to be taken over. If promoting from within isn’t an option, take the time to carefully consider external hires without rushing into a decision for the sake of filling the role and moving on.

4. Schedule an Exit Interview

An exit interview is an opportunity for your employee to share details about their experience working with your company. Ask about what the employee liked and disliked about their job and the company culture. Get feedback about how employees feel about company leadership. Find out what prompted the decision to leave. Listen to the feedback and use any criticism to determine where you might make improvements moving forward.

While an employee leaving the company will create change, that change does not need to be negative. Use this opportunity to address issues within the company, create a positive environment for your employees, and move forward.