While a solid and consistent team may be your goal, the ebb and flow of life indicates that team members will likely come and go over time.
However, if you can spot the signs that someone may be thinking about quitting, perhaps you can intervene and course correct to keep them on your team.
The experts at Harvard Business Review did a detailed study to uncover a set of “pre-quitting behaviors” that indicate an employee is likely to quite within 12 months of exhibiting these behaviors.
Some common misconceptions and cliches include dressing better for work (aka job interviews), leaving a resume on the office printer and much more frequent “doctors appointments.”
In actuality, the following behaviors are much more realistic indicators of someone looking for an exit.
The Pre-quitting Behaviors that Made the Cut:
- Their work productivity has decreased more than usual.
- They have acted less like a team player than usual.
- They have been doing the minimum amount of work more frequently than usual.
- They have been less interested in pleasing their manager than usual.
- They have been less willing to commit to long-term timelines than usual.
- They have exhibited a negative change in attitude.
- They have exhibited less effort and work motivation than usual.
- They have exhibited less focus on job related matters than usual.
- They have expressed dissatisfaction with their current job more frequently than usual.
- They have expressed dissatisfaction with their supervisor more frequently than usual.
- They have left early from work more frequently than usual.
- They have lost enthusiasm for the mission of the organization.
- They have shown less interest in working with customers than usual.
Next Steps
Do you have team members exhibiting these characteristics?
Would you know what to do if they did?
Can you identify when it’s time to let that employee pursue a new opportunity?
Stay tuned for our upcoming article on employee retention and empowering yourself to prevent team turnover.
You’ll save money by not having to start from scratch with the costly process of recruiting, hiring and training a new employee.
Plus, you’ll retain trust with clients by not having the kind of turnover that makes them worry about consistency within your team.
Meanwhile, if you’re experiencing these symptoms right now, contact us today and we’d be happy to consult with you to navigate your team retention or transitions!
