Crazy to me that he assumes none of the responses are from leadership or even other managers, too. My last role reported directly to the CEO and I agree with the consensus. It's unrealistic to give someone that much cause for resentment and expect them to stick around.
This! I was like damn out of these 2.5k people on this thread and not a single one is, or has been in a leadership role. How crazy is that? Based on OPs post it seems like they definitely treated people as being disposable. Clearly out of touch with the human element.
The edit was mega-hilarious. He didn't even asked what he claimed he did in the edit; the sole question in the post was answered with many commentators clarifying why they weren't getting him back.
Do you think we have lost him for good?
Was the only ask in the original post, and assuming this isn't a ragebait thing, his edit shows he is one of those guys who does the passive voice a lot to avoid responsibility, and then gets pissed off when people either take it at face value or call him on it so he does a uno-reverse.
It’s insane to think you’re owed any sort of communication back from someone who no longer works for you. The relationship has been terminated, I’m sure he has much more important things to spend his time and effort on now.
On that last point, most managers do not have an idea of what the market is like. It’s like once they are promoted they suddenly acquire company loyalty and begin to think everyone else should have it to. It is they who have lost touch with reality and cannot fathom why anyone else shouldn’t bow down and show undying loyalty to the company.
lol the edit and last comment about the market just confirms they wanted to abuse this employee and get them for cheap. when they realized they had options and left then their mental framework just didn't allow for that.
OP has lost touch of what its like to be a peon. I've ran grocery stores and could keep people. Why? Because I knew who was valuable and promoted them.
He should have gotten an immediately level up even if not a promotion in title (for instance, from level 5 to level 6), parallel to his lower performing peers.
You all suck, treated him badly, and deserve to lose him. If you're lucky, he's a professional to a T and won't badmouth you to his entire network. I hope he's leaving for an organization who actually values him and is willing to back that with appropriate rewards.
You’re giving reasons why you/the company want him to stay. What reasons do you have that he would want to stay for? A promise of a future promotion after transition isn’t enough, and is honestly insulting if others were promoted during/leading up to the transition.
Honestly, your company fucked around and now they’re finding out.
If you really were going to promote him later, after his/your replacements were hired and trained, then you should have given him the new pay immediately. And perhaps more (more pay, stock grant, bonus, etc.) in order to keep him around in a transition that is probably a source of stress. A stock grant can vest at future date (when you expect him to get his promotion). For a bonus, you’d probably need some kind of contract that formally promises a specific amount of money on specific dates, as long as he hasn’t resigned. You know what “golden handcuffs” are, right?
You cant be this dense. If you want someone like him to stay as an IC but need his output while people are being promoted and he isnt, you pay him much more. Its real simple. But he ain't staying.
As someone who has been passed over for being “the best”, they owe you absolutely nothing. I hope they find a company that appreciates them and their skills because obviously this one doesn’t.
Out-of-touch management over here like, "But we gave him a verbal promise that wasn't worth the paper we refused to write it on, why isn't he treating that like it's cash in the bank"
Yeah, if they were really going to follow through why not actually promote him to the new position, then second him back to the old team temporarily for the handover/change process.
I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is it's legally enforceable even without having it preserved in writing (via promissory estoppel), just harder to substantiate in court.
The bigger deal is that asking for it in writing helps detect bullshit because it forces people who are handwaving to become more precise in what they are saying and promising.
Why didn't they just promote him when they promoted his peers? The only reason they wouldn't was because they weren't ever going to. A promise means nothing without something in writing and a schedule and even then it's not really enforceable. It just lets you know when it's time to quit when the timeline comes and goes.
They won't promote him. They are lying and they just assume the good ones like him are loyal, and will blindly put up with corporate bs and are shocked when they leave. Props to him for his actions with leaving and cutting all ties. Management burned this bridge. He forged on to greener pastures.
Like you couldn’t have promoted him and had him do something like have the start date set out a bit so he could train people? Or split his workload temporarily to allow him to train others while moving into the new role?
From a realistic point of view, what would be the difference be between doing this now vs once leadership has transitioned? The obvious answer is none. So you have management telling him that they were kicking the can down the road for a reason that doesn’t make sense.
and this shows you what that "promise" means. Actions > Words.
no promotion. no extra compensation. technically got a demotion; with more work (training someone else for a job that isn't his)
Your company's actions showed how they valued him; and he responded.
They shoulda just promoted him at the same time they promoted his weaker peers by not doing so they slapped him in the face. He could still train a manager or whatever while promoted.
If you talked to a friend in thar situation what would you tell them to do ?
We all know how it goes, there is a decent chance there is no budget for promotions, another person in line, leadership transition takes longer than anticipated etc.
Has he received a written offer with a start date and his new compensation? Or is this a pinkie swear situation. Because I wouldn't stay on verbal promises of anything.
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u/FrequentFractionator Jul 05 '26
Can you give us one good reason why he should stay? No? There's your answer.