How Should HR Handle Discovering an Employee Has a Job Offer from Elsewhere?

What should an HR do when they discover an employee has received an offer elsewhere?

As an HR professional, upon learning through personal channels that an employee has attended an interview elsewhere and received an offer, it is essential to handle the situation with professionalism and sensitivity. The first step would be to gather all relevant information and assess the impact on the current role and responsibilities of the employee within the organization. It is crucial to maintain confidentiality and handle the matter discreetly to avoid any potential conflicts or misunderstandings.

Understanding the employee's motivations

From an HR perspective, the focus should be on understanding the employee's motivations for seeking opportunities elsewhere and addressing any underlying issues that may have led to this situation. Open communication with the employee is key to gaining insights into their career aspirations and concerns, which can help in determining the best course of action to retain talent and maintain a positive work environment.

Approaching the situation with empathy

As a person, empathy and understanding are paramount in approaching the situation. It is important to consider the employee's perspective and emotions while offering support and guidance. Building trust and rapport can facilitate a constructive dialogue to explore options and find a mutually beneficial solution for both the employee and the organization.

Ultimately, whether in the capacity of an HR professional or a person, handling such delicate matters requires tact, empathy, and a focus on maintaining a positive relationship with the employee while addressing the organizational needs effectively.

As an HR professional, I really don’t think you can do much other than probably talk with the person to find out why he/she is seeking a change. Most tend to look for a change to find more challenging work, an increase in salary or stature, or if they are dissatisfied with the management of the company or their bosses.

If you want to retain this person in your company, perhaps you need to figure out how you can offer a better option to this person than what he/she is being offered elsewhere. In any case, it's best to keep track of how employees are treated as an ongoing process rather than try to mend things when they start looking for a change because most often they have made up their minds and will leave anyway.

As a person, you can congratulate him/her and wish him/her the best of luck.

Hi! Actually, what HR can do is ask the person why she is leaving. If your company has something more to offer the employee, you could also ask her if she would reconsider her decision. 

Conducting exit interviews

Basically, this is also one of the reasons why we conduct exit interviews—so that we can get the opinions of employees who decide to leave the company. This helps us improve the organization's setup and policies.

The Role of HR in Employee Retention

Every person is entitled to look for opportunities, and this is a fact that needs to be realized by the HR Head. It would, therefore, be fitting for the HR Head to talk to the employee who has attended the interview. The objectives of such a talk would be:

a) Find out why the employee wants to leave the organization.

b) If it is a career-related aspiration that the HR Head knows cannot be matched, he could wish the employee the best of luck.

c) If it is due to pecuniary reasons, the HR Head could pragmatically find out what could be done to retain the employee.

d) If it is due to employment factors such as the work environment, lack of interest, social factors, etc., the HR Head could try to address these factors to comfort the employee.

Ultimately, if I were an HR Head, I would realize that no matter what incentives I offer, an employee who has already negotiated once may do so again. There is no end to this cycle. I would need to consider my training costs and the cost of re-training. If retaining the employee would have a negative impact on others, I would prefer to wish the employee the best of luck and try to keep them at least until a replacement could be trained.

Jyotijha, the "dilemma" you're referring to here is the same "dilemma" that Mr. Webster talks about in his books? Yes? Well, I just want to call your attention to the typo error you made on this page.

And, yes! I also agree with all those who said that it is the employees' right to look for better opportunities outside our organization, especially when they can't find it within or inside your company. This is the reason why we HR practitioners, especially those still employed and managing their HRD, need to be more proactive and give Career Development a lot of time, priority, and budget. Without that, employee retention, especially of the good ones that can always find better-paying jobs elsewhere, will be extremely difficult.

Best wishes.

Ed Llarena, Jr. Managing Partner Emilla Consulting

Yes, some good points were raised by all our members. In my opinion, once an employee has decided to leave the organization, as an HR Head, it is better to allow the employee to leave (I know many eyebrows would be raised). If they stay, it will affect their performance levels and ultimately lead to a downfall in the productivity of the organization. In short, their commitment level will decrease.

The Importance of Exit Interviews

As one of our friends rightly pointed out, an exit interview is a must so that we can check whether there are any flaws in our policies or if everything is okay. We need to ensure these kinds of issues do not repeat.

And finally, as an individual, just wish them all the success. Comments or suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Subhash.RV :D