Mr. Right Now, Not Mr. Forever

Thanks again to Sugarland for cementing my thought for the day. The questions that have been pinging around in my head are along the lines of will I be here long enough to retire? Will each member of my staff remain in HR until they retire? Will our awesome intern find what he needs at our medical center or return home after his internship? And on and on the thoughts go . . .

What if the answers to any or all of the questions is no?  I am here now because I have a contribution to make - some day that may change, my work here may be done. So? Does that mean I am not giving it my all now? Absolutley not. I hope that my employees want to stay with HR but if they choose to leave is that a bad thing? I guess it depends on why they leave. Opportunities for advancement, further development, to try something different - all good reasons. Because I treated them unfairly - not a good reason. Will our intern stay? Depends on him and his interests and he has to know that he has a job with me if he does choose to stay.

What the answers to any or all of the questions is "yes?" Cool, I only hope that it is for the right reasons not because any one person felt that they were not capable of change or growth. 

My role is to support and develop each individual, to help them realize their potential and to encourage them to make the moves that best meet their personal and professional needs. Now, I don't want 100% turnover and am surely not pointing people to the door and I am committed to do what I can to make sure that each person has the tools they need to do their job and be successful. I sincerely hope that they can find what they need on our team and if they don't I will support them in finding it.

Ultimately, each person needs to make the choice that is right for him or herself. What we have is working right now, doesn't mean it will forever. Hey, we have no business looking that far out anyway!