Let’s Discuss Attrition - Subbu Allamaraju

This resource first appeared in issue #91 on 10 Sep 2021 and has tags Becoming A Manager: Offboarding

Let’s Discuss Attrition - Subbu Allamaraju

We’ve talked about people leaving before, and that post pandemic such departures will rise. Allamaraju reminds us that this is good and healthy and not to freak out:

• Attrition is natural
• Reasons for attrition vary
• Attrition is an output - you can only control the inputs

In my team we do a relatively good job of celebrating new opportunities for team members where they go. This is one of the things academia I think does right - recognize that people moving on is just part of their career development. We pretty actively stay in touch - so much we may get our first boomerang team member this year if we play our cards right!

But Allamaraju makes another good point, and one which I don’t see called out very often:

Every exit gives you, the manager, an opportunity to improve the team structure and dynamics. Attrition loosens the team fabric and gives you a chance to reshape it. Don’t let go of that opportunity.

The departure of even a valued high-performing team member is an opportunity to grow the team in new directions.