Employee Departure Cascades
When one employee leaves, more are likely to follow.
If you liked reading this, please click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack. Thanks!
What’s the hardest thing I’ve ever faced as a leader? Having one of my best employees leave my company. It happens to all of us, but it hurts every time.
Employees leave for many reasons, and even if you were the best leader creating the best employee experience they might have personal reasons to leave. It doesn’t make it any easier.
Unfortunately, whenever someone leaves it makes it likely others will follow. Having a co-worker leave can encourage others to look around and see if they too might find better opportunities elsewhere. Even if you have non-solicit agreements in place, it’s also likely they might want to follow the person who left to a new team at a new company.
If your company is struggling, this all becomes much worse. Employees know when a company is struggling, no matter what you tell them. They might be willing to keep going to see if things turn around, but as soon as someone leaves it becomes a sign that it’s time for everyone to leave.
Soon, one departure becomes two. Two becomes four, and now you’re losing employees faster than you can hire them. The departures become a cascade that is hard to control as it takes on a life of its own.
Even if your company is doing well, these cascades can happen and convince the remaining employees that the company is struggling - even if it’s not true!
If you find yourself in the midst of an employee departure cascade, you need to act quickly. You can’t afford to have your most valuable employees all start to depart at the same time. The solution is not to lie, nor is it to panic. Here’s a three step process to follow:
Start hiring. The best way to convince employees to stay is to have new, brilliant people join. Not only do these new folks improve the team, but the fact that they joined is a signal the business is doing well. It will quickly overshadow the departures. Just starting the interview process can go a long way towards having everyone focus on the future.
Be honest. It doesn’t help to pretend that employees aren’t leaving, or that there are no reasons to do so. Acknowledge the reasons but reinforce what you are doing about them and why your company is still a great place to work. The more transparent you are, the less likely they are to think employees are leaving for reasons they don’t know.
Reinvest in your team. Think about how you can improve your employee experience and make those changes now. Some folks immediately reach for retention bonuses, but equally important is whether the team looks forward to work every morning. The more enjoyable their day, the more likely they are to stay.
At the heart of this is the simple fact that you cannot prevent people from leaving, but you can give them reasons to stay. What makes your company the best place to work? What do you offer that they cannot find anywhere else? Whatever that is, lean into it and remind everyone about it.
If you don’t have an answer, find one. If you don’t, you might find yourself in the midst of an employee departure cascade and not have the tools to make it stop.
For more on Managing People, see: