Four tell-tale signs your best employee is going to quit

New year, new job. It’s a natural reflex to reach the end of the year and reflect on where you are and what you want to accomplish next year. Admit it, you’ve thought about it – and there’s every chance your employees are thinking it too.

No-one wants to see their best colleagues leave.

Finding, hiring and training a replacement for someone earning a $60,000 salary can cost companies up to $45,000 in time, recruitment fees and training. And for the most highly-trained positions, the costs can be 200% of the exiting employee’s annual pay!

Staff retention makes business sense. But there’s an added sting when employees leave. You see, there’s an unwritten workplace rule that most employees follow. They believe their work belongs to them not you. Whether it’s a strategy presentation, new design or customer contact sheet, staff think they own the work.

Eighty-five per cent of leaving employees take employer documents and data.

A quarter take patent information, more than a third will take confidential customer records. Ninety per cent do it because there’s simply nothing to stop them.

Now this is information you don’t want to see put to work for a competitor. And if confidential data is taken without permission, you’re facing the need to disclose a data breach – with your market position and reputation at stake.

You can read more about the risks and costs associated with such breaches in this free Quick Guide to Data Loss Prevention (DLP).

So, how can see tell if staff are looking for new work?

Watch out for “brownout”

You’ve all heard of burn-out. But how about “brownout”? According to Harvard Business Review, brownout happens when your staff are working hard and there’s little external evidence that they’re feeling under pressure. But inside, they are feeling “a silent state of continual overwhelm”.  It’s time for managers to step in to give support … if not, the exit door will seem like a more attractive option.

Telltale signs: withdrawal from office social activity, struggle to engage

colleagues in non-work conversation, and apparent loss of personal interests.

Resume polishing

When someone updates their LinkedIn profile, it’s a fair conclusion that they may be looking to leave. But digital job-seeking also takes other, less obvious, forms – from employer and salary research on sites like glassdoor.com to trawling job boards or posting resumes on employment forums. It’s worth being transparent with employees that browsing habits on company devices can be monitored – and then use an auditor tool to periodically check for warning signs.

Telltale sign: browsing habits on office tech on company time.

Productivity slump

A sudden drop in productivity should ring alarm bells. Employees could be struggling with trouble at home, issues with health, or it may be a sign they are struggling with motivation and looking to leave. Again, an auditor tool can help flag changing working patterns and productivity.

Telltale signs: sloppy work, unexpected errors, fall in productivity

Timekeeping

Your best performing staff probably put in long hours and never complain about an early call or late meeting. But when you see a pattern of requests for time off during the day, or late starts, then something’s happening. Again, is it a problem at home or job-hunting and scheduling time for interviews? Time for a positive conversation with the employee to find out what’s wrong.

Telltale signs: Poor time-keeping, clock-watching, sudden out-of-office appointments.

If this sounds like common sense – that’s the good news. Be an attentive manager and look for the signs. Listen to what your staff tell you. Can you remember what they said about career ambitions on the day you interviewed them for a job?

Technology will augment your performance as a manager; it can help spot problems and mitigate risks you can’t easily see.

So, make sure you have systems in place to monitor activity and productivity and the technology to keep your confidential data where it belongs – inside your business – if they do decide to head to the exit.