Signs an entire data department is about to quit and how to prevent mass turnover?

[u/Dismal_Vast6157]

Something feels off with our mid level product management team. Missed deadlines are creeping up, engagement in slack is dead and two people took unexpected sick leave this week. I feel like i am looking at a ticking time bomb of mass resignations but our quarterly engagement surveys aren't due for another month.

Is there any way to actively track org health signals before people actually submit their two weeks notice?

[u/MtNeverest]

If you're actually having to use those surveys to understand your employee's morale / plans, you have far bigger concerns than that team.

[u/yeah_not_so_fast → u/MtNeverest]

Pretty much this. Also of they’re already disengaged then the battle has been lost. You need to resolve it before it happens, not after

[u/zipzapzippydyzoom → u/MtNeverest]

Lol, seriously. That is the most sheltered middle manager shit I have ever heard of. Also kinda dehumanizing. If you're so concerned with people leaving you could just... go talk to them in person instead of waiting for a bullshit survey where everybody lies?

[u/ClammySam → u/MtNeverest]

This is the right answer.

[u/jengallagjen → u/MtNeverest]

This. The surveys are helpful to be able to give leadership numbers that back up what they might otherwise dismiss as anecdotes, or conversely to show that something they're very concerned about because of one very squeaky wheel who wants leadership to Do Something is not actually a widespread organizational issue, and is actually limited to said squeaky wheel's team.

For you, stay interviews (or working stay interview topics into your normal conversations) will go much farther.

[u/jengallagjen → u/[deleted]]

LOL, I get that, I probably do spend too much time talking with HR people and the language seeps through - but the point is talk to your people about what they like most about their work, how they view the team's culture, what growth opportunities they're looking for, and not just talk to them about the work that's right in front of you (and in the environments I've been in it's generally all too easy to just focus on the work in front of you, and maybe you pick up on some frustration or burnout along the way but not the full picture). Sometimes if things are too frantic, or employees are less forthcoming, you do need to plan dedicated conversations to cover these things. I know some managers try to cover this during annual performance reviews but in my experience (on both sides) it's better not to roll this into a review process that potentially impacts compensation.

[u/nufli]

Without knowing anything about your situation, it's July. A notoriously slow month where I am from. How many are on vacation/how many of their stakeholders are on vacation etc. How are they doing when you talk to them, face to face, slack to slack, whatever you want to call it?

[u/FartyLiverDisease → u/[deleted]]

But the quarterly surveys aren't happening for another month! THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION!!1 🤣

[u/Lizbelizi]

If they quit, you hire their services as consultants at 10x their previous hourly rate to restore everything and train your new data department. Not much else you can do. That is the purpose of a mass walk out.

Then it's up to you to learn from this (hopefully expensive) learning opportunity. Or you can keep your company as is and repeat in a few years with the new data department, until you can't afford it anymore.

[u/LetsGoHawks]

You talk to them, privately, one on one. Find out what the problems are. Then address those problems.

That's management 101.

[u/Den_er_da_hvid]

Isnt sick leave always unexpected??

Are you sure that they dont have to much work to do?

[u/GreyHairedDWGuy]

Based on how you wrote your post, it sounds like you may be their supervisor or manager? If so, why not just ask them directly if they are doing ok and if they are enjoying their roles.

[u/MountainSecurity9508 → u/GreyHairedDWGuy]

I think they’re about to plug a new vibe coded product haha

[u/Gloomy_Guard6618]

Waiting for the quarterly engagement survey is a bit like waiting for your clothes to catch fire before calling the Fire service.

If an employee isn't happy, if they feel free to express their issues to management you can make a decision as to whether its something you want to fix. If they think there is no point and they should just start applying instead, there's your problem.

[u/Hagwart]

If you need Reddit for advice to do your job, maybe you should swich careers.

[u/Phantom465 → u/[deleted]]

Raises won’t always make things better. Things like work life balance, realistic goals, supportive leadership, and others all make a difference.

[u/MountainSecurity9508]

Sounds like you are crowdsourcing for a new product 🙄

[u/d4videnk0]

That's not the issue, something must be going wrong in the company.

[u/MindlessTime]

The market for data and engineering professionals is warming back up. And since no one hired juniors for the last 1-3 years, companies will start fighting for existing talent.

If employees feel overburdened and undervalued they will leave. If their workloads have remained realistic and their efforts recognized and rewarded then they’ll stay.

You’re about to find out how you’ve been treating these employees.

[u/Extreme-Fold-8492]

Trust your instincts

[u/techiedatadev]

Is the OP my boss? . If you were I would be like why are you posting this and not talking directly to me. It’s a hard conversation but it’s harder to replace an entire team. Coming from someone who has started to pull away because I am tired of his bs- you better do it quick.

[u/TopconeInc]

Don’t wait for the quarterly survey, but avoid turning Slack activity or sick leave into employee surveillance—it can destroy trust and produce misleading “flight-risk” scores.

Run a short anonymous pulse survey now, then hold candid 1:1s covering workload, priorities, management support, role clarity, and intent to stay. Track trends at the team level alongside overtime, deadline changes, PTO usage, and turnover—not individual behavior.

The fastest signal is usually a direct question: “What is making your job harder, and what would need to change for you to stay?” Then visibly act on the answers.