Parting Lessons

Even if you do everything right, people will think about leaving. What you do about these mullers depends on whether they're in the early or late planning stages. Here's some advice from analysts, managers and programmers:

The catchables. If an unhappy worker has been slogging away at unexciting projects, reassign him to something sexy with a high profile - even if he requested the projects he's on now. "I should have been given much more responsibility, but I was being passed over . . . again and again," says programmer/analyst Mark Winstead of a job he left.
Also, "ask (dissatisfied workers) for a six-month commitment," says Fran Quittel, a high-tech career expert.
To what? "To anything. Try to get them to invest themselves in something," she says.
If your business is doing badly and there's widespread unrest, set up "truth vehicles" such as open-book management, suggestion boxes and open meetings, says John Putzier, president of FirStep. "The more open the organization is," he explains, "the less potential for the grapevine."
Putzier also says it's important to "grab voiced dissatisfaction and act on it." The key question to ask the departing worker: "What would you do differently?"

Department of barn-door locking. If someone's just punching the clock waiting for a new job to come along, you may be tempted to confront him. But Quittel says that isn't necessarily a good idea. "You have to assume that if you confront someone directly, they won't tell you the truth," she says.
Experts stress the importance of exit interviewing as a way to find out why people are leaving. If you find a pattern - lousy pay, a few bad managers - you must address the issue.
Finally, no matter how betrayed a departure makes you feel, project a different image. "Even if we're really angry someone's left, we try to make them feel good," says Jack Morgan, assistant vice president of human resources at CSX Technology Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. CSX has several innovative retention programs, including "alumni" parties where the company tries to lure back former IT workers. "You want (former employees) to feel good and say good things about you," Morgan says, if only for pragmatic reasons: "Referrals are vital." - Steve Ulfelder