It’s inevitable that employees – including those you value highly – will leave your company, whether it’s to take another position or make a total career or lifestyle change. But in most cases, key team members don’t just up and quit without warning. There are signs you can watch for, so that with the right strategy, you may be able to avoid the stress and heartache of a costly turnover. These are marked by noticeable changes in behavior, including:
Complaining and Grumbling
If an employee who rarely complains suddenly begins grumbling a lot, this is a red flag that they’re no longer satisfied at their job. Something has gotten under their skin, and they’re clearly not happy.
- In many cases, the source of their discontent leads directly back to their manager. The industry adage that “people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses” really does ring true.
- Find out what’s wrong. If you don’t, you may wind up replacing more than one good employee, as word spread and their attitude rubs off on coworkers.
Attendance Issues
Any out-of-the-ordinary time away from the office that occurs frequently is generally a sign that an employee is either actively job hunting elsewhere or has reached an unhealthy level of burnout. Either way, it’s time to step in and fix the problem. This could manifest as an individual:
- Coming in late or leaving early.
- Suddenly using up accrued time off.
- Taking inordinately long lunch breaks.
Performance Declines
When an employee is thinking of moving on, their productivity, output levels or the quality of their work are likely to suffer. It may start out small, such as a normally outgoing team member no longer participating at meetings or offering to help with extra assignments.
- Unless you’ve authorized the action, call employees out if they suddenly begin delegating their work to others. It’s your right to determine why they’re lessening their workload. If it’s a reason other than job hunting, you still need to know so you can take the right corrective action.
Social Gushing
A good indicator that an employee may be moving on is a recently updated LinkedIn profile. When it comes to endorsements and recruiter connections, LinkedIn recently started to allow users to hide their profile edits, so this can make it a bit tricky. Train yourself to be alert for what has come to be known as social gushing.
- Look at a person’s profile for likes, comments, and similar content directed toward key executives at other firms. It may mean they’re trying to get on their best side and land an interview.
For additional tips on how to optimize your employee retention rate – or when the worst happens, and you need to find new talent to replace an A-team player – PrideStaff Fresno can help. We offer temporary, direct, and temp-to-hire solutions customized to meet your business needs. Contact us today to learn more.