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

Intermediate

separation agreement

A legal contract outlining the terms of an employment exit, typically trading severance payments for liability releases and non-disparagement promises. It's a divorce settlement for your job.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

DEI

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion -- the corporate initiative that ranges from genuine organizational transformation to a single lunch-and-learn in February. The commitment level can usually be measured by whether DEI has its own budget or just a shared Google Drive folder.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

Evergreen Recruitment

Continuously recruiting for positions even if they're not currently open. It's like fishing, but with résumés and desperation.

👥 Human Resources

Advanced

adverse action

Any employment decision that negatively affects a candidate or employee based on background check information, requiring specific legal notifications under the FCRA. It's when your past catches up with you in triplicate forms.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

ghost job

A job posting that remains listed despite the position being filled, cancelled, or never actually available. The corporate equivalent of catfishing, wasting candidates' time on phantom opportunities.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

equitable

Fair and impartial in a way that considers everyone's circumstances, not just treating everyone identically like some kind of corporate robot. It's the difference between giving everyone the same size ladder and giving everyone what they need to reach the same height. In legal contexts, it refers to principles of fairness that supplement rigid law with actual justice.

👥 Human Resources

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