Even managers who focus on culture and motivation are sometimes unable to retain high-performance team members. Here are three warning signs that indicate a top employee is getting ready to quit.
- Asking for more opportunities or development. This behavior is the workplace equivalent of a cry for help. Ignore the employee, and you intensify his desire to quit.
- Disengagement. Once-cheerful employees who become bitter or otherwise disengaged are looking for emotional ammo to reinforce their impending resignation. Recognize the signs and reel the employee in, ideally by appealing to her distinct motivators.
- Increased focus on personal activities. This may manifest itself in a variety of ways, including showing up late for work, taking longer lunches, leaving early for "appointments," working with the office door closed, or using company property to conduct non-work-related business.
Have you observed any of these warning signs in former colleagues?
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