Have you ever had loss of life in your org?

Fact is no-one.. yes no-one tells you (HR/TA/leadership) what to do when someone in your company dies. You are not prepared, cause its an after thought.. It’s not in any onboarding, not in leadership training, not in any MBA curriculum. What can you do to make sure your company knows how to act with dignity when it loses one of its own?

Given a chance, I think

• Continue the salary. For whatever months an org really can. Convert pending bonuses and variable pay into full payout. Let the family breathe before life starts demanding paperwork.
• Assign someone to be a REAL point of contact - for weeks, not days
• See how else to extend support - possible to fund the children’s education? Do that? Want to create a one-time trust? Do that? If the family member has employable skills, find them a role.
• Handle the insurance process end-to-end. Don’t let them "submit" - suport. do it for them. If you can.
• The family deserves to know the version you saw - put them together. Bind them. Send them home. That becomes legacy. Build a "Memory Wall" -
• Presence for leadership is not optional.. They got to be there. Not for PR. Not for optics. But be there. People remember who showed up.
• I would like to see someone marking their calendar - and once a year reaching out to the family. One message saying "We still remember" .. That message will mean more than any policy ever could.
• Funny how every org has a "joining kit" but rarely anyone think about "Departure Kits"
• I would use this moment to ask: Does everyone know where to find their insurance details? Do we have updated emergency contacts? Do we have a plan if something happens suddenly? One death should make the company safer, not just sadder.
• Who will guide them all when they need to led through a loss. No one pays attention to that. Next time it happens - and it will - your company will respond with grace, not confusion.
• I would also ask everyone to ask themeselves one hard question. "Would I treat this person the same way if they were still alive?" If the answer is no - fix that now, while they’re still here.

Death is the ultimate audit of culture. And maybe the truest test of leadership, org philosophy isn't how you celebrate life - but how you carry its absence.