Saying goodbye to a colleague from Talented is a normal and natural occurrence. When handled properly, it can even be a positive thing for everyone involved. In fact, sometimes, letting some team members move on is an important part of keeping teams on the right track.

In most organisations, the most common situation is when a team leader believes someone is no longer a good match for the company for any reason. It's important to note that you don't have to handle this alone. Please ask for advice and help. HR will take care of the process and paperwork, and they can also assist with the difficult conversations.

However, the most critical work happens months before that, and that's where team leads and managers come in. You work with your team mates every day. You see how they are really doing. You have one-on-one meetings, projects, and feedback sessions together. All the information flows to you as a lead. Now it maybe time to have the tough conversations.

Here's how to go about it:

1. If you notice consistent red flags around someone in your team, actively consider the possibility that that individual’s time at Talented may be about to come to an end. The reasons for this can be many. Some organisations like Netflix have their own ‘keeper test’.
2. When you begin to feel this way, soft-flag it to your team lead. It's important to get a different perspective on things about the colleague in question you may or may not have missed.
3. Analyse the problem together and provide feedback to the person in question. Try to come to a shared understanding of where things are going wrong. Here are some pointers to guide your thoughts, but keep in mind that real situations are always more complex.
   • Someone is underperforming. Try using our QTPR to track down the areas where you think things should improve. Give actionable feedback and try to come up with concrete points to work on in his/her personal goals. Don't wait for the feedback cycle, the time is always now.
   • Someone stopped growing or learning. This isn't necessarily an immediate problem, but it can be because most people like working at Talented because they grow and learn so much. Someone standing still for a year is a red flag.
   • Someone's role is no longer a match. Roles, jobs and their demands change. They aren't static. Pay attention to changing roles and put effort into telling your people what changed instead of implicitly expecting people to understand what changed. A changing role can be a reason for someone to no longer be the perfect match. Tell someone what we expect from them, make it clear. Work together to match those new demands but be honest if it doesn't work. This also works the other way around: some roles don't change, but people do.
   • Someone wants to grow in a different direction. Talented is still a small company so we can't just offer every possible career path. Use one on ones to talk about someone's ambition and career path. Be honest and realistic about the possibilities at Talented. Think about whether you think someone would be a good fit for that role and tell them what would be needed to get to that point (in terms of skills, expertise, personality, experience). The next question is whether Talented has a role like that vacant. Be realistic and open about this.
   • Someone believes in a different direction for the company or the team. Everybody is really invested on an abstract level. We’re excited for work most mornings because we believe in what we are doing. That belief might shift and that is okay, as long as we talk about it. If you notice someone losing belief and probably disagreeing with everything that happens, that is a red flag.
   • Time is up. Sometimes it's this simple. People grow, evolve, change, Talented does the same. People have the tendency to go for what they know. We believe it's very healthy to move on after a while, before the milk turns sour.
4. Work together to come up with a plan to improve the situation, and take action on that plan. Throughout the process, provide ongoing feedback to each other.
5. If the situation is not improving, it may be time to end the working relationship. You can do someone a favor by telling them that it's time to move on. When this point is reached, signal HR, that both parties have tried everything but it's best to part ways. They will assist you through the process.

3-Day Full & Final Settlement