Your Employee Quit. Don’t Replace Them Yet

What does Nasa after the Challenger explosion, Batman, and the best law firm owners have in common?

It’s not that all three involve people who are really good under pressure. (Although I’d happily trust Batman with my intake department before some law firm owners.)

It’s that they ask the right first question when things go wrong.

Not, “How do we replace what we lost?” but instead the question is “how do we make sure it never happens again?”

Last week, we talked about why people quit. If you missed it, the short version is this: people rarely leave because of money. They leave because of dozens of little frustrations that pile up until leaving feels easier than staying.

And, you know what, eventually, despite our best efforts, someone is going to quit.

Now what?

Here’s what I used to do, panic.

Then pull out the old the job description (kidding I didn’t even have one!), maybe call a recruiter, and try to fill the seat as fast as possible, with a warm body.

That feels productive. It isn’t.

The Lie We Tell Ourselves

The biggest lie we tell ourselves after someone quits is: “I need to replace (insert name of person).”

No.

You need to replace the systems that caused that person to become a superhero, remove the toxic waste, get rid of the errant gamma rays, make sure their parents don’t get horrifically murdered (good advice for every situation).

If one person leaving causes everything to grind to a halt, you don’t have a staffing problem.

You have a systems problem.

That’s actually good news.

Systems can be fixed.

You know what can’t? Finding another Unicorn and hoping they magically enjoys carrying the same impossible load.

Hope is a terrible hiring strategy.

What Actually Needs to Change

Instead of conducting only an exit interview, conduct what I call a Business MRI.

Use their resignation to diagnose your firm.

Ask yourself:

What broke the minute they left?

What knowledge disappeared because it only lived in their head?

What tasks were they doing that nobody else even knew about?

What frustrated them that everyone simply accepted as “the way we’ve always done it?”

What work shouldn’t exist anymore because AI, automation, or a better process can eliminate it?

Every resignation shines a flashlight on the weakest part of your business.

The question is whether you look where it’s pointing.

Or whether you just turn the flashlight off by hiring someone new.

Work Out What Your Firm Actually Needs Next

A departure gives you a chance to rethink the role before you fill it. If you want help sorting out the responsibilities, priorities, and decisions the next person should own, see how law firm coaching can help you work through the next hire.