When two friends lost their corporate jobs recently, their final moments with their employers was similar to a goldfish being choked to death from it’s tiny bowl.

Empathy is a rare gift in human resources. The office mechanics of escorting them outside the building and into the parking lot took precedence over the late nights and sacrifices they made to keep their businesses running.

Both put their heart and soul into what they did for over two decades. The dehumanizing treatment they received from HR was worse than a full-blown TSA body check.

Traditional corporate HR is great at soft talk. They are eager to sell company benefits when you join.When you exit, they show their faces. They seldom ask a simple question. How was your experience? How did it make you feel? Can we do something for you?

I believe all HR personnel should mandatorily read Bob Chapman’s book “Everybody Matters.” Chapman narrates his own experiences about the importance of being better stewards of your employees lives. This is the only recipe that will  enhance the long-term success of your business.

Today, employees who are ousted put their experiences in graphic description on LinkedIn and other social media outfits in minutes. They describe cathartic experiences, give exact times when they were called into the office for a meeting, and they describe the stone-faced look of your HR director . By the way, two weeks ago she had you paint walls at a soup kitchen to boost the company’s social responsibility reporting matrix.

Sadly, this traditional HR practice began during the industrial age and still continues in businesses small and big.

But, be very afraid. Millennials have started questioning this fundamental premise of man-made capitalism. At least for them, HR’s goals of retention are becoming meaningless. (300 words or less. 295 words)