Sam has always approached his work as though he is a partner in the company, although, he is only an employee. He loves the challenges of his job, interacting with clients and helping them solve problems. The flexibility of his workday enables him to attend his children's sporting events yet he still works as long or longer than anyone else.

Lately however Sam is not happy with the direction the company is taking with their product line and packaging. He is starting to feel that their products are a reasonable value instead of the best. He thinks the new retail packing design will cost him his largest client. (He is right. It will.)

Sam is clearly disengaging. What is happening?

I call this an employee eclipse. It is when the employee has lost sight of the meaning in his work and has become disengaged just as an eclipse of the sun or moon temporarily hides that celestial object. Sometimes there is a valid reason, such as Sam's situation. Other times the individual has become disengaged due to something at work or in their personal life. It can make you (leaders and managers) question their loyalty.

I really like what Reed Hastings of Netflix says about loyalty in his PPT deck about the Netflix Freedom & Responsibility Culture:

• Loyalty is good as a stabilizer
• People who have been stars for us, and hit a bad patch, get a near term pass because we think they are likely to become stars for us again
• We want the same: if Netflix hits a temporary bad patch, we want people to stick with us
• But unlimited loyalty to a shrinking firm, or to an ineffective employee, is not what we are about

Do not let an eclipse cause permanent damage to your employee relationship. Intentionally engage someone when the first hint of the eclipse starts to darken their performance. You may notice something and then allow yourself to justify postponing action. Do not wait. Often your instincts are correct.

When you save someone from "going dark" on you permanently it is a huge savings to your company and demonstrates your company values. Then again, you may find the individual has already checked-out of your company but the lights are still on (they are still collecting a paycheck). In that case you can limit your loss.

Meeting Ideas

THE ECLIPSE is often an unexpected event and leaders are so busy that we talk ourselves out of engaging people to discuss our concerns. Possibly a retention interview will help you discern whether you need to re-engage the employee or encourage them to move on to a new opportunity with another company.

Consider meeting the person one-on-one or with another employee outside of the office in a coffee shop, restaurant, on a walk or other non-business settings. Do not allow any interruptions from cell phones, tablet PCs or other technology. Your total focus should be on the employee and understanding their needs, desires and dreams for your organization.

We have a more detailed description of how to do retention interviews for our Customer Champions Club Members, but here is a sampling of questions you might ask:

1. What do you like best about your job?
2. What is the most fun you have had on the job in the last three months?
3. Are there any challenges you are having where I can help?
4. In the past you have seemed more fully engaged. Is there anything going on that you would like to discuss?