The latest Mercer "What's Working" survey -- conducted in 2010 with the results released this past June -- suggests that one out of every two Canadian workers is disengaged, while one in three workers is seriously thinking about leaving their current employer. Of those that were contemplating leaving their employer, the survey suggests that diminished respect for the organization and/or a concern regarding the future success of the business were cited as typical reasons.

In my view, this is not a surprising statistic, especially since corporations and not-for-profit organizations alike are undergoing such tremendous change at this time. When dramatic change such as mergers, acquisitions, and retirements of key personnel, general changes in leadership and/or the anticipated sale of an organization occurs, employees quickly hide behind an invisible protective wall and go into career survival mode. In other words, they withdraw and become observers rather than participants.

Of course, organizations don't want to see high levels of turnover and often revamp their human-resource systems in order to prevent it. They engage in a flurry of compensation and benefit surveys, conduct internal job evaluations to ensure internal salary equity, and they strive to improve their performance-management systems. Some of the larger corporations provide career-development seminars for employees to help them understand their capabilities and to entice them to search for other opportunities within the firm, rather than leave the organization.

Still others beef up their training and development offerings, particularly in the area of supervision and leadership. They focus on training leaders to identify the personal motivators of their employees and suggest ways and means of matching these with opportunities. They examine motivators such as independence and autonomy, being able to become a technical expert and/or a manager, or engaging in challenging projects and creatively thinking about how these can be accommodated.

However in some cases, no matter what system changes and improvements management implements or however you attempt to accommodate an employee, there are some individuals whose needs simply can no longer be met by your organization. For instance, the employee may be facing personal health and/or family challenges that no workplace could accommodate. Or, they may simply be at a stage in their life cycle where they feel they no longer fit with your corporate goals and objectives.

But don't despair, employee turnover is all part of normal, natural business life and that's OK. After all, you cannot afford to treat any one person so specially that it upsets any sense of equity within your organization. Simply let them go and send them off to seek career opportunities elsewhere. Pride yourself on what they learned and how they contributed to your success and then move on.

On the other hand, management doesn't want to get caught by a surprise resignation. As a result, part of any management training needs to be the development of sensitivity toward the signs someone is ready to leave. Some of these signs include the following:

-- Missing important meetings with fellow colleagues especially when talking about business-related issues.

-- Working off-site more than in the workplace and avoiding colleagues where possible.

-- Isolating themselves in their office and failing to participate in the usual collegial camaraderie.

-- Failing to volunteer for tasks they would normally take on.

-- Being less than prompt in returning calls from customers and colleagues.

-- Deliberately avoiding contact with members of management.

-- Demonstrating an overall reduced ability to concentrate, along with frequent bouts of daydreaming.

-- Complaints of unexplained tiredness and mood swings and an absence of the normal smiling face.

-- Increased time off work for a multitude of reasons.

It is important to act as soon as you sense that an employee is withdrawing and isolating himself. You can confront the employee directly and/or be more indirect and inquire if something is bothering him and how can you help. Hopefully, the employee will be honest and will engage in a full discussion of his issues and concerns.

Should career growth for this employee not be possible within your organization, take the initiative to assist the individual to network and perhaps find a new job with one of your contacts. If resources are available, and if the employee is uncertain about where they are going next, think about funding a career-transition program to help them make their move.

Provide a written reference and be open to telephone reference calls. Agree with the employee on what will be said to future employers regarding their tenure with you and the reason they chose to leave. Providing career assistance and support would be much appreciated by the employee and it is a very positive approach to building and maintaining good networking relationships in the marketplace.

Having someone slink off the premises in the dead of night sends a poor signal, so be sure to effectively manage the employee exit process. Make an announcement to remaining staff and ensure that it provides a positive message. If possible, invite the employee to a goodbye lunch or invite fellow colleagues to wish the person luck during an upcoming coffee break.

On the other hand, should the exit of an employee be rather sudden and a surprise to all, including management, it is important that some kind of damage control take place. This is particularly important, because remaining employees will go into survival mode until they feel things are safe and settled down. Call your employees together and provide them the news. Be open and up front as much as you can. Prepare a question-and-answer script and ensure that managers are available to answer questions during the day.

Every employee exit is a completely different situation. If the former employee had been isolating him/herself from others for some time, you will not see much attention paid to their departure. However, if the individual was popular, well liked and active in the employee group, then more attention needs to be paid to the departure.

As you know, good employees are hard to find and just as hard to keep. And while turnover is a natural phenomenon in every workplace, dealing with an unexpected employee exit effectively makes all the difference to all parties concerned.

Source: Mercer, What's Working Survey Report, June 2011