Key Employee Wants to Leave After Extensive Training: How Can We Retain Her?

In my company, one key role employee received another offer from a branded company. However, management is not ready to release her because she is crucial for the project, and we provided six months of training from the USA specifically for this project. Now, we will need to train a new candidate again, which will consume more time, and we are already pressed for time.

Seeking Suggestions for Employee Retention

Can anyone please suggest what to do in this situation? We are willing to consider any options. We have already informed her that leaving at this stage is not the ideal position, but she is not accepting the management's decision.

Employee Resignation and Training Costs

Just because an employee was trained abroad for about six months at the employer's expense and holds a key role in the current project, I don't think she should be compelled to remain in the employer's service indefinitely. She should be allowed to resign, subject to the notice conditions outlined in her employment contract. Of course, the employer can decline her buyout option for the notice period, if any, and insist on her actual service.

If she has already executed a bond to serve the organization for a specific period after her training abroad or to reimburse the entire cost of training in case of breach, and the specified period is not yet over or she is unwilling to reimburse, the employer can reject her resignation. Try to convince her by offering some incentives, and if that is not possible, search for a suitable replacement. In the realm of employment, no one is indispensable!

Dear Saidurga,

Your company could have been a little more thoughtful. Your company should have made a legal agreement with the employee before sending her abroad for training. In this agreement, you could have mentioned a specific period for which the employee must serve.

At this stage, legally your position is not so strong. Beyond compelling her to serve the notice period, you cannot do anything as such.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar