The Dance of Dissolution: Why Hiring and offboarding Are Part of the Same Rhythm

(Or, Why Shiva Would Have Made a Great Talent Acquisition Lead)  

The Corporate Cycle of Creation and Dissolution 

Every company loves hiring. It’s an event. There’s excitement, there’s branding, and sometimes there are even celebratory LinkedIn posts:  

✅ Thrilled to welcome [new hire] to the team!  

✅ Our company is growing—we’re looking for top talent!  

✅ We are building the future!  

offboarding, on the other hand, is treated like a dirty secret.  

❌ There are no posts that say: “Excited to announce we just let go of 15% of our workforce—true transformation begins now!”  

❌ There are no employee spotlights about the people who carried the company for years before being restructured out of relevance.  

But here’s the problem: You can’t have hiring without offboarding. Growth and dissolution are part of the same cycle. And no one embodied this truth better than Shiva.  

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Shiva’s Tandava: The HR Dance of Life and Growth 

In the Shiva Tandava Stotra, a poem in the Sanskrit language, there’s a powerful description of Shiva’s cosmic dance:  

Shiva doesn’t just dissolve for the sake of it. His dance is a rhythm of creation and dissolution. Something must be cleared before something new can take its place.  

Now, look at any organization. What happens when hiring isn’t balanced with responsible offboarding?  

1. Companies overhire in a frenzy.  

2. Budgets tighten, layoffs follow.  

3. Survivors experience burnout, but hiring freezes prevent relief.  

4. Six months later, a new hiring spree starts.  

It’s a messy, panicked version of Shiva’s Tandava—with all the dissolution, but none of the rhythm.  

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Why offboarding Should Be Treated with the Same Respect as Hiring  

Most companies think that hiring is about adding and offboarding is about subtracting. But real talent acquisition is about keeping the right rhythm.  

 1. Stop Hiring Without Purpose  

- If Shiva danced without awareness, the universe would collapse.  

- If companies hire without strategy, they build teams that crumble under their own weight.  

- Hiring should be deliberate, not just a reaction to short-term needs.  

 2. Let Go with Dignity  

- Shiva’s dissolution isn’t random—it clears space for renewal.  

- When companies treat layoffs like a secret, they create fear, uncertainty, and broken trust.  

- If you have to let people go, do it with clarity, honesty, and respect.  

 3. Understand the Rhythm of Talent Flow 

- Some employees will grow and move on—this isn’t failure, it’s part of the dance.  

- Organizations must prepare for transitions, not resist them.  

- If you only celebrate hiring but ignore exits, you don’t have a talent strategy—you have wishful thinking.  

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The HR Tandava: How to Balance Hiring and offboarding  

To avoid the chaotic cycle of hire-burn-layoff-repeat:  

✅ Hire with foresight. Don’t just fill seats—build a structure that lasts.  

✅ Offboarding isn’t failure. If done with respect, it’s part of long-term growth.  

✅ Communicate change clearly. Employees shouldn’t feel like they’re walking on unstable ground.  

✅ Stop treating departures like betrayals. People leave. Let them go with grace.  

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Final Thought: Can Your Company Dance, or Is It Just Stumbling?  

The best organizations don’t just grow—they evolve. The question is: Are you leading the dance, or are you just cleaning up after the storm? 

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