Attrition from Client projects

Attrition happens -- I have no problem with it and we need to deal with it as a course of doing business. Whether it is for more money, better opportunity, change in career direction, family demands, whatever, it is all cool with me.

What really gets my goat up, is when people agree on a start date with a new employer, but fail to agree on the last date with their current employer. Two weeks notice is standard issue in the US, 4 weeks in the UK, but for goodness sake please assume that that's what your employer and client expect from you, not whatever you think you can get away with.

What is intruiging to me is when I have to tell a client one of our people has quit, and the notice is less than the contractual obligation (and remember we as a vendor have our own obligations to the client), the leaving party actually thinks they have done the right thing by everyone and will say "..it is a small world and I am sure we will work together again sometime .. I really like you guys ..". Yeah, right. They have in one fell swoop just nicely torched a bridge or four, and will never be employed again by us or our client. Grow up, please.

From a risk mgt perspective, there are some obvious negatives to this and only so much you can do (other than having a bench!). On the positive, I have found there is opportunity to relate to the clients' heartache and to possibly re-jig a few things around to our mutual benefit.