I found my employee's resume on the printer!

Finding one of your employee’s resumes on the printer, on a job board, or anywhere besides their HR file can conjure up a variety of thoughts and emotions. Replacing an employee can be difficult, particularly if this is an “A” player who is an integral part of your team.
 
The way you handle the situation can either diffuse a possibly awkward and contentious situation, or damage it beyond repair. Ignoring it is always an option, but not one that we would recommend. So here are a few approaches that might allow you to salvage a relationship or even make it stronger:
 

1. Talk to the employee. It’s not necessary to mention you found the resume, as that could put the employee on the defensive. Instead, consider discussing with them their overall job satisfaction and see if there is anything specific going on that you can address. It’s equally likely that you will discover they are just doing a regular resume update or simply trolling to see what’s available and if they are on par with their peers in the marketplace.
2. Talk to your entire team. It might be time to address moral with your entire team. The employee you uncovered might not be the only who is looking or considering looking. This could be an indication of general dissatisfaction and unrest within the department. If possible, plan a team building event or at least a conversation that will allow you to gage overall morale.
3. Defer to someone with a strong relationship with this person. If there is another senior person that has a strong personal relationship with the employee, this might be your best solution for engaging the employee and uncovering the motivation behind updating their resume.
4. Send their resume to all your competitors. If it’s an employees whom you would like to see leave, count your blessings and start helping distribute their resume!

If an employee is legitimately considering leaving, remember that compensation may not be the issue. So rather than temporarily band-aiding the issue with a raise, try to uncover the real issue. It might be the commute, recognition or a relationship with someone in the department that has prompted the employee to update their resume. Uncover the real issue and you could save a valuable resource and a lot of time and expense.