“I’ve had days where I’ve felt very low and questioned myself, ‘Is it my fault? What could I have done? Did I do my job well enough?’” says Ndeshi Shipanga, people and culture partner at Anything Is Possible.

“I think any HR person would probably say they take it slightly personally. But we can’t blame ourselves every time someone leaves the business.”

It hurts when people leave unexpectedly.

Even more so when you’re the person in charge of keeping people happy.

So how can you minimise the impact on the team, the business, and yourself when someone leaves?

“Lots of people who I started out with are no longer in the agency. So when new people came in, it felt like I was hopping on the train and starting the journey all over again. That can be quite tricky,” Ndeshi says.

“And it impacts the people that remain in the agency – but it also impacts new people. If we’re walking around moping because someone left, you’re not giving the new people the good experience that they deserve.”

“So I think the light at the end of the tunnel for me is having really great new talent coming into the business which is exciting. It’s all part of the employee life cycle.”

In this month’s HR & People mastermind, we’ll be talking about how to navigate situations of natural attrition. 

• What’s your strategy for maintaining team morale during transitions?
• How can we ensure new hires feel welcomed and valued from day one?
• How do you stay positive and not take attrition to heart?

If you’re in the middle of something similar, come along to discuss this with the group and share your own experiences with this conundrum.