How should you react when an employee is poached? (Hear what the experts say)

When an employee says, “I have something to tell you,” it’s normal to feel a sense of foreboding. No manager wants to hear that someone on their team has been poached. But how do you respond to this news? bargain? Or accept the truth? How do you tell if an employee is bluffing and wants a raise?

What the experts say

The truth is, people generally don’t leave their jobs around your schedule. But don’t panic and make the best of the situation. "Whether or not the employee ultimately accepts another job offer, this is a good opportunity," says Dick Grote, a performance management consultant and author of Harvard Business Review Goal Setting and Performance Appraisal Methods author. Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, senior consultant at global executive research firm Egon Zehnder and author of "Talent Wins," added that this is a time for self-reflection as a manager, a time to "understand the company more deeply, Team and yourself” opportunity. Here's how to do it.

Stay Calm and Listen

Don’t respond immediately to an employee’s messages—no matter how annoying or surprising you may feel. Instead, you should gather more information. Grote recommends that you respond briefly, "Tell me more." This not only buys you time to "flex your muscles," but also gets you "important information about the offer."

Fernandez-Aráoz agrees, “Immediately ask the employee to tell you as much as possible about the new company, department, boss, colleagues and job.” He also recommends asking questions in the “4T” way: Task Task (what they will do), Time (when to do it), Team (who will complete the task) and Technique (how to complete the task).

Grote believes this conversation is best conducted face-to-face. If an employee sends you an email and you work in the same office, "run right over" to his or her desk. If you're not in the same office, consider getting together or making an online call, advises Fernandez-Aráoz, "There's nothing better than being on the spot for a candid conversation that both parties desperately need."

Dealing with Bluff

Sometimes employees use a job offer as a tool for promotion. Fernandez-Aráoz says you can often tell whether an employee actually wants to leave by asking these questions carefully and watching for body language clues of excitement. If you're sure an employee is just bluffing, don't hesitate to blow their whistle. "If it's true, then the employee is leaving anyway, and if it's not true, you can tell about his personal qualities," Grote said.

Carefully consider the employee’s value—and act accordingly

Once you have a better understanding of the competing job offer, your next steps depend on your desire to keep the employee. level of employees. Grote said, "Every manager should determine the position for which the employee is suitable based on his or her value to the team and the company." Ideally, you've "taken steps to retain those at the front while identifying those at the back."

If you don’t feel lost when an employee leaves

“Sometimes, being grateful is the right response,” Grote said. Find out why employees are leaving, and this information can help you retain remaining team members. But then, bless your employees and start preparing for their departure. You should “seize opportunities to promote potential employees who are ready, and if you really can’t find a good internal candidate, hire a better one,” Fernandez-Arauz says.

If the employee is great

Compare the two job offers as much as possible and highlight the benefits of staying on. Whether it's further learning, a raise, a bonus, or opportunities for advancement and growth, take the time to tell your employee "what they'll get" if they stay with the company.

For example, you might consider changing employees' job tasks or providing them with more training. While you may be tempted to offer a better offer to retain the employee, Fernández-Aráoz advises against doing so unless the employee's departure would cause a huge loss, which in many cases can have the opposite effect.

Grote agrees, saying that making a better offer "only brings temporary benefits because it makes employees realize that you have been hiding something from them, and it is taken as a is the way to get paid more.”

Don’t burn bridges

Even if a valuable employee decides to leave, don’t be bitter about it. Instead, schedule an exit interview to get feedback and advice about the job, the company, and yourself as a manager. Also, plan "a nice farewell party, or farewell lunch," with your team.

"It's important to thank your employees," Fernandez-Aráoz said. "You and the company helped someone develop and grow, and that's something to celebrate, even if the days of working together are numbered." Remember. Stay in touch. Having a group of ex-employees "has become a selling point in recruiting."

Avoiding the next turnover

A side benefit of having other job offers for employees is that you gain "competition" Sexual intelligence,” for example, “What conditions do other employers offer? What motivates employees to leave?” This can help you better retain employees. "In many cases, employees first realize their value during the exit interview," Grote said. In addition, Fernández-Aráoz believes that you should develop an informal, floating list of valuable employees based on "potential and value" and check them regularly to ensure that there is no risk that employees will leave at any time.

Rules to Remember

Do this:

Ask carefully about another job offer. If you want to retain employees, explain the benefits of staying employed. Know who is most valuable on the team.

Please do not:

Show frustration, even if you feel lost or betrayed. Haggling right away may backfire. Afraid of blowing the whistle if you think the employee doesn't really want to leave.

Rachel Bitte, chief human resources officer of social job recruitment site Jobvite, always tells people how to handle employee turnover, and she wasn’t surprised when one of her HR leaders quit. . The supervisor was a valuable employee and "fit the company and the position," so Rachel wanted to know more. She asked questions such as, "What motivated you to make the change?" "Is there a performance review-like system?" "Trigger?" "Push-pull question", trying to determine whether he was "pulled away" by other places or "pushed out" by the environment of his current position.

But she didn't try to get all the information in the first conversation. Rachel explained, "After the anxiety of the announcement wears off, maybe the conversation will be more substantial." Although the executive initially said the new job was a better opportunity with more pay, he later admitted that he was not comfortable with the current job. Position, career progress is not fast enough. Afterwards, Rachel asked her boss to talk to the supervisor to "show that we were interested in retaining him and learning lessons," and she also asked other employees in the company for their thoughts on why they left.

Eventually, "he decided what was more important to him," and the executive left. But Rachel doesn't blame herself for his departure because she has a better idea of ??who's qualified to fill the position. "There are always changes in life - family, company, standards of judgment. If he wants to advance quickly in his career, he made the right decision."

Consultant at Catalyst Consulting Group, a boutique consulting firm Recently I approached the company’s managing partner, Ronald Recardo, and told him that I had been offered an executive position at a private equity firm.

Ronald was surprised because the consultant was one of the core members and would soon be promoted to partner. So Ronald invited him to have a meal and a drink to talk about the reasons for leaving. “He was satisfied with the leadership position we offered, the compensation, and the intellectual stimulation of the job. The only issue was the frequency and distance of travel,” Ronald explained. Many consultants in the company are on the road 80% of the time. And he hopes to start a family and spend more time with his parents.

Because Ronald wanted to retain him, creative changes were made to the employee's job. This consultant was also an excellent copywriter, and Ronald asked him to focus on the company's blog, writing articles, and updating company brochures and promotional materials. Due to the change in work content, he reduced his travel time by 25% and worked from home two days a week. In view of these conditions, he agreed to remain in office. Ronald sees this as a win-win.

When Cheri Spets Farmer, principal consultant at Grace Bay Group, was the station's general manager of operations, she nearly lost a key member of her team. As an account manager, the employee "brought great skills to the team. He was the best person in his position." But one day after work, he came into Shelly's office and said he was waiting for another company. Job offer from TV station.

Shelly had a heart-to-heart conversation with him and asked him why he left. He learned that the employee felt he was undervalued. Shelly focused too much on the problem employee and not enough on supporting him. When asked about career development, he expressed his desire to take on more responsibilities and gain more recognition. Shelly knew she had this to give. So, instead of making a better offer, she promised "more work involvement and empowerment," "I enrolled him in an informal manager training program," she explains. “I made a point of involving him in meetings that he wouldn’t normally be able to attend, and asking him to be more involved in front of other team members.” He felt more satisfied with his position because he felt like he was “a trusted person.”