I’ve both told bosses and been the boss who has been told by my direct report that they’re interviewing. Not all of those cases ended up in someone changing jobs, but some did. I’ve given relevant advice to my directs who were considering changing roles.
Sometimes someone up and quits without saying anything (and that’s their right), but I think it’s more productive if we can have a real conversation about the situation and maybe we can change something or maybe we can’t.
The very worst that I’ve done knowing someone was looking was not putting them onto a long project that would require substantial personal commitment to accomplish if I knew they were looking. Otherwise, no impact (and even there it made their departure easier on both sides).
Sometimes someone up and quits without saying anything (and that’s their right), but I think it’s more productive if we can have a real conversation about the situation and maybe we can change something or maybe we can’t.
The very worst that I’ve done knowing someone was looking was not putting them onto a long project that would require substantial personal commitment to accomplish if I knew they were looking. Otherwise, no impact (and even there it made their departure easier on both sides).