Attrition after appraisal season: how to see it coming and what to do before it starts

Three weeks after hike letters went out, a senior engineer on a retail client's account asks his manager for a quiet word. By the end of the following month, two more people from the same project have resigned. The HR head hears about the first resignation on the day it happens.

Exits after appraisal season are common in services firms, and they are rarely a surprise to the people close to the team. This post shows how to read the signs before letters go out and what to do in the weeks around them.

A review gives every employee a reason to compare. They compare their hike with what they hoped for, with a colleague's, and with an offer they may already have in hand. Resumes are often updated before the cycle starts, so the letter is the trigger, not the cause.

The cause is usually older. A person felt unseen on a project, was moved to support work, or waited for a promotion that was mentioned twice and never confirmed. The letter makes the gap official.

• People whose self-review is short, flat or missing, when earlier ones were detailed.
• Staff who ask suddenly for experience letters, salary details or clarity on notice terms.
• Engineers who stop volunteering for interviews, reviews or new technology work.
• A project where the manager's proposed ratings are all lower than last year, with no change in client feedback.
• Sharp rise in leave taken on Mondays and Fridays across one team.
• Questions about promotion timing from people who passed the usual time in grade.

None of these proves anything. Together they tell you where to have a conversation. Treat them as a reason to listen, not a list to act on in secret.

1. 1

   List the roles you cannot afford to lose

   Name them project by project. Include the person who knows the client's build pipeline, the only one who handles a certain integration, and the lead the client asks for by name.

2. 2

   Mark the ones at risk

   For each, note the pay position in the grade, time since last promotion, recent manager changes and project strain. Keep the sheet to HR and two leaders.

3. 3

   Plan one conversation each

   Before letters go out, the manager meets each at-risk person to say what the firm sees in their work and what the next step could be.

4. 4

   Check the hike against the person

   If the proposed hike is below what the conversation would suggest, escalate before the letter, not after the resignation.

5. 5

   Prepare a cover plan

   For every key role, name who can take over the client work for two weeks. This cuts panic when someone resigns.

A manager should be able to explain the rating, point to specific work, and describe what the next grade needs. It helps to name one thing that will change in the next two quarters: a skill to be trained, a project to be moved to, or a decision on promotion. If nothing will change, do not invent a promise.

Avoid the counter-offer reflex. A raise given at resignation fixes pay but not the reason the person looked. It also teaches others that resigning is how to get a revision.

What I saw in your work this year, with two examples.
The rating and the reason, in plain words.
Where your pay sits in the grade and why.
What the next grade needs and how we can help you get there.
One thing we will do in the next quarter, with a date.
What you would like to ask or tell me.
Note of the conversation, shared with HR within two days.

Treat the first resignation in a team as information. Hold an exit conversation soon after, ideally led by HR and not the direct manager. Ask what happened in the last six months, not only why they are leaving. Record the answers by theme and read them each quarter.

Then look at the rest of that team within a week. Others may be wavering. A short, honest chat with each can clear doubts, or help you plan an orderly handover. The notice period and knowledge transfer post describes how to protect the client work if more exits follow.

• Hold the manager conversation before the letter, always.
• Publish the promotion process, including timing and what evidence is needed.
• Review pay positions in grades before the cycle, so outliers get attention early.
• Add a check-in six weeks after letters, to ask each manager who looks unsettled.
• Share anonymous themes from exit conversations with leaders each quarter.

The employee retention and attrition management page explains how GullyHR sets up exit analysis and stay conversations. The software development companies hub shows related topics, and the appraisal cycle design post covers the cycle itself.