How Do You Recover When a Star Employee Leaves?

While boosting the performance of an underperformer can be a primary challenge for a manager, losing an overperformer can be a bigger blow.

Not only can star employees elevate productivity with their own efforts, but they also often inspire the rest of the team to higher levels of performance. A star employee’s departure can also cause other team members to question their futures at the company and look elsewhere.

An initial reaction may be to provide the employee with a counteroffer, but research conducted by software company Eclipse found that about 80% of candidates who accept a counteroffer from their current employer end up leaving within six months. The same survey found that half of candidates who accept a counteroffer from their current employer will be back on the job market after two months — usually when the novelty of an increased salary and new responsibilities wear off.

A blog entry from The Headhunters states, “Money is hardly ever the sole factor someone [is] resigning and those other underlying factors will still be there.”

However, conducting an exit interview is seen as essential. A recent HBR on Leadership discussion noted that the exit interview can inform whether the exit was due to stress, not providing the employee with enough of a challenge or development opportunities, a lack of recognition, or poor management. Often, the individual is looking to try something new, and one piece of advice was not to take the exit personally.

Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review, said, “How many times have we heard that phrase, that people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses? We’ve almost been socialized to think about this and to believe this. And whether it’s true or not, it’s almost a go-to. What did I do to encourage for you to feel like you don’t want to be here anymore? And the truth of the matter is, there’s a myriad of reasons that people could choose to move on from their current job, from their current organization.”

Maureen Hoch, editor of HBR.org, pointed out the importance of recognizing the top performer’s contributions both personally and in front of the team. She said, “Even if you’re feeling very blindsided, upset, discouraged. If you show that to the team and you don’t recognize and thank that person for all the ways that they’ve made a difference, that’s going to hit your team wrong.”

Lacey Walters, VP of marketing at HR platform Blue Signal, said a star performer’s exit may necessitate showing a “little extra appreciation” for current employees who may be reassessing their own future with the company. She wrote in a blog entry, “When a top performer leaves, this is doubly concerning. This can cause worries around lack of stability or merely open people’s eyes to greener pastures. While the feeling will likely be fleeting, it’s important to re-address why each individual employee is valuable.”