Preeti Malik, co-founder of Digital Creativs, recently shared a revealing anecdote about an employee who wanted to resign — and the reason wasn’t money.
When a valuable employee decides to leave, it often puts teams in a difficult spot. Companies typically try to retain such talent with salary hikes to avoid the time and effort involved in hiring and training a replacement.
Malik found herself in a similar situation when she received a resignation she “didn’t see coming”.
She recalled that during a face-to-face meeting, she had been prepared to flag a performance concern. However, the conversation took an unexpected turn, leading to a key leadership insight.
The employee said, “I won’t be able to continue.”
In response, she asked, “If you could design your ideal role, what would that look like?”
After hearing him out, Malik realised, “He wasn’t leaving for more money. He was leaving because there was a role misalignment.”
“Turned out the automation work which is what he came in for, the stuff I never had a single problem with he loved. The tedious work we’d layered on top? He hated it. Because it made him context-switch every two seconds and taking focus away from the work he enjoyed,” she added.
To address the issue, she restructured the role and made a revised offer, which the employee accepted.
Reflecting on the situation, Malik said that without asking that one crucial question, she would have lost a “culture fit that’s genuinely hard to replace” and “someone who’s actually good at an important role”.
She concluded that retaining employees isn’t about “perks or pay bumps”, but about ensuring that the “team feels like they do work that matters & helps them grow”.
“I almost missed it entirely. One question changed everything,” she added.
Social media reaction
The post struck a chord online and saw strong engagement. “We have a similar story where one of our employees was showing less attention to detail because expectations around her role weren’t clear enough, but after realigning, she’s now one of our star players!” one user wrote.
“This is such a powerful reminder that performance issues are often symptoms, not the root cause. That one question completely shifted the conversation. More leaders need to listen before they diagnose,” another added.