What to do When an Employee Might Leave

Do you have an employee you think might leave your organization? Here's what to do.

Conduct a Core Values Index psychometric assessment. Learn with certainty if they are right for their role. Odds are there is a significant misalignment if they are contemplating leaving for a job at another company.

Based on the employee?s psychometric profile, there may be some changes you can make to their responsibilities that more appropriately align them to their role. You may also find they are more suited to another position entirely.

Keeping the employee on board, but in a better aligned role or suite of responsibilities, is beneficial for several reasons. Turnover is very expensive and hiring a replacement is time-consuming. Time is money. Keeping them on the team also maintains their institutional knowledge and history with the organization. The employee wins because they will function more solidly within their wheelhouse — which will make them happier.

In some circumstances, there may not be another role within your organization that is available for them. Or, the nature of their position cannot be changed enough to align with their core values. In this case, the best scenario for you and the employee is for them to leave in an orderly and planned way, and on good terms.

Even in that worst case scenario, you both win to a certain degree. The employee gains valuable information about how they are hardwired. They understand why they didn't fit the role. They can use this information to find a position within a different organization where they will shine.

You also learn more about the needs of the role, and more importantly, you have identified what kind of psychometric profile is, and is not, right for the position. The most effective way to do this is with a Top Performer Profile™. An often under-appreciated benefit of using a psychometric profile like the CVI and a TPP to identify the employee's strengths and weaknesses is the employee leaves under good terms. Nobody wins when bridges are burned.

If the employee stays because changes are made to the role or the employee transfers to another position within your organization, grab a snapshot of their morale by having them complete a Happiness Index assessment at eRep.com (free to individuals and all employer accounts). Have them complete another assessment a month or two later to track how their happiness is changing. This will give you a strong indicator if any changes you made to their role were productive. You can then adjust as necessary.