bleeding talent

Definition

Losing your best employees at an alarming rate, usually because of terrible management or culture. It's a brain drain but make it workplace trauma.

Example Usage

After the third top engineer quit in a month, HR admitted the company was bleeding talent due to the new return-to-office mandate.

Source: HR and talent management terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

organizational development

A systematic approach to improving organizational effectiveness through planned interventions, change management, and cultural transformation. HR's attempt to apply social science to fixing workplace dysfunction.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

stretch assignment

A challenging project or role slightly beyond an employee's current capabilities, designed to accelerate development. Corporate speak for 'we need this done but don't want to hire someone qualified.'

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

360 review

A feedback process where everyone in your orbit gets to anonymously roast you, ensuring that workplace grudges can be aired without accountability. It's democracy applied to performance reviews, which works about as well as you'd expect.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

probationary period

An initial employment phase, typically 30-90 days, during which both employer and employee evaluate fit with reduced job security. Corporate dating before commitment, except you're already living together.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

psychic income

The non-monetary rewards of a job like satisfaction, prestige, or meaningful work. It's what employers offer when they can't offer competitive salaries, as if pride pays student loans.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

tour of duty

A fixed-term employment approach where both employer and employee commit to a specific project or time period with clear expectations and an endpoint. Think of it as a mission-based relationship rather than 'til death (or layoffs) do us part.

👥 Human Resources

Translate This Term

See “bleeding talent” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

SIL

MILandFILare used to refer to the parents of the SIL's partner. SIL may also stand for "sister-in-law" so the context in...