Losing a Team Member

Every team experiences loss sometimes. My team is losing a member, and it has prompted contemplation of what it means to lose a team member.

If you have spent any time in the corporate world, you have seen team members come and go. When a team member leaves, whether it was their idea or not, it will usually fall into one of 3 categories:

• "How will we survive without them?" - This usually happens when it is a team member that is considered key. Their skills, knowledge and/or experience makes them a crucial part of the team. The team, colleagues, clients, managers and customers wonder how things will work without them. There is always some speculation of whether or not the team or business will survive without this crucial member.
• "I am happy for them" - This is the sentiment for a team member that was good or great, but did not have that "something extra" that made them crucial. The team, colleagues, clients, managers and customers wish them well and regret the loss, but quickly move on. The loss can be considered "painful", but is not generally met with much concern or fan fare.
• "Could see it coming" - Sometimes there is a team member whose leaving makes the team better. This improvement is sometimes not clear until that team member is gone. For example, they may be a drain on morale, but not be doing anything that warrants disciplinary action. Sometimes they just do not "fit in". Losing these team members will have much less negative impact on the team, and will often have a small positive impact.
• "Thank goodness they are gone" - In the worst case, there is a team member that cannot be fired fast enough. They are a burden to the rest of the team and cause more problems than they solve. These are the team members that get a "goodbye party" thrown AFTER they are gone.  

No matter which situation applies, losing a team member will present some challenges:

• Schedule interruption - No one adds time into their schedule for losing a team member. The time involved in transitioning the lost member's project(s) to other team members is more than enough to throw a kink in any schedule.
• Knowledge/skill loss - Every team member has knowledge and/or skills that are unique. Transferring or compensating for those skills is can be difficult. Often "alternative solutions" will be needed.
• Replacement - Recruiting and hiring is often an arduous, difficult process. This gets even more complicated when replacing a senior member of the team. The more senior the lost member, the more "shake up" will be involved with replacing them.
• Psychological affects on the team - Often when a team member leaves, it causes remaining team members to question their commitment to the company and/or team. Team members can feel angry at the situation surrounding the loss; they can be seduced by opportunities not previously considered; or they can be worried about their standing within the team.

I have witnessed all of these situations at one point or another in my career, and while the details of each occurrence is different, there are certain universal truths:

• The company will survive - No matter how painful the loss of a key team member may be, the team and the company will survive. If losing one team member, no matter how crucial, kills the team or the company, then there were bigger, more important problems.
• The loss should be used to the advantage of the team - Every team has some processes, procedures or environments that should be improved, but have not been for some reason. The loss of a team member, especially a key team member, can be the catalyst for change that the team needs. On the few occasions that my team has lost someone, I have used that loss as an opportunity to improve the team's processes, procedures or environment. Even the most reluctant VP is often more willing to agree with, "While the team's efficiency will suffer during the recruitment process, the impact can be minimized by <insert team need here>."
• Team members should view the opening as an opportunity - The best view of what the future may hold for someone is how they handle adverse situations. The loss of one team member may be an opportunity for another team member to shine. Learning something new or accepting more responsibility can be an indicator that a team member is ready to move their career forward.

In short, losing a team member is NOT the end of the world. Sometimes it is worse than other times, but in the aftermath, a good team will survive and sometimes even prosper.