If Your Best Employee Left Tomorrow, What Would You Tell Them?

Would thank them for their hard work, effort, and devotion?

Would you write them a hand-written note card, telling them how much you’ve appreciated them, as a person and as a contributor to your team’s cause, progress, and mission?

Would you show your love and appreciation by throwing them a special going way potluck in the office, or even a night out with the team?

You’d likely do any one or all of the above, and if you do, no doubt your best employee who made the decision to leave your organization would feel loved, appreciated, and most importantly, valued.  

In fact, they might even feel so good…so loved…so appreciated, they may second-guess their decision to leave.

The Reality

The reality is, research tells us at this very moment half of the workforce is scrolling through LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and anything else their Google search serves up, as they look for a new job. 

But if they genuinely felt loved, appreciated, and valued would they be?  Would they go through with the anxiety, doubt, fear, and uncertainty of starting over someplace else if they truly felt welcome, comfortable, and important in their current role with you and your team?

What about you?  Would you leave your current role or organization if you felt welcome, comfortable, and important?  

We’ve all left jobs, companies, and we’ve even career switched from one industry to another. At the very core of what drove our decision for change was not the work we’d get to do, but instead it was how we hoped we’d feel when we arrived at the new place.

Bringing It All Together

• Thank your best people for their hard work, devotion, and effort, letting them know the specific contributions you value most.

• Write your best people a simple email, text message, or hand-written card every now and again, telling them how much you appreciate their presence on the team.

• Show your best people how much you love their work, and even how much you love them as people, beyond who they are and what they do for the organization.

They might just stick around a little while longer, giving, sharing, and contributing all those things you love about them.  

As it turns out, humanness goes a long way with human beings.  

And one thing we all have in common, despite all our differences and diversity, is that we are all human beings. 

Give love.  Show love.  Spread love.

Lead with hospitality.

Have a great day.

Taylor