5 Signs Your Top Employee Is Considering Quitting

All businesses should be eager to retain their top employees. Not only do they perform highly in terms of doing their work well, but they contribute to overall productivity. If you have to replace them, productivity will drop as you go through the recruiting process. In addition, the hiring process is costly in terms of both money and time.

So you want to be alert to signs that top people may be thinking of quitting. Here’s some signs to be mindful of.

Arriving late to work

Coming in late to work can be a big sign that an employee is looking for other employment, especially if they have never had issues with late performance before.

First, many employers set up interviews before work to avoid conflict with the work day. Your late employee may have been interviewing in the hour before work.

Second, it’s a fact that many employees who are dissatisfied tend to slip in areas like lateness. They aren’t paying as much attention to being a top-quality employee as before, because they don’t plan to be around very long.

Taking long lunches

Long lunches are also a sign that employees may be looking for work elsewhere. Lunchtime is another frequent interview time, so a lengthy lunch can mean an interview took place during it. Your top performer might also have been looking at job postings during the lunch break.

Underperforming on the job

A dramatic fall-off in the quality of an employee’s work can mean trouble.

If you see this, take the employee aside and ask in a productive way if there is a reason. It could be that the employee doesn’t fully understand new tasks and needs more training or is overburdened with the amount of work. If either of these is the case, take steps to relieve the issue. Train or see if the amount of work can be shifted.

But employees who have become demotivated in a workplace might also simply be performing less well. If they feel underpaid or unappreciated, they may not be working to capacity. And looking for a better salary or a more appreciative employer are often key reasons employees quit.

Showing less enthusiasm

Top employees often show a high degree of enthusiasm. If someone needs to be trained on new equipment or to volunteer for the company volleyball team, they are often the first to volunteer.

If a top performer shows markedly less enthusiasm than they have in the past, it could be a sign that they are unhappy. Look for reasons here too. Do they need more training or have positions they accepted with enthusiasm not worked out? Take steps that will relieve reasons for less enthusiasm.

Slacking off on interaction outside of work

One of the key signs that an employee is looking for a job elsewhere is suddenly becoming uninterested in going out with other employees after work or on the weekends. If the team goes out for happy hours after work or gets together for picnics, they are suddenly too busy to do it.

Coworkers tend to become the old gang once an employee is actively looking elsewhere. Their interest in being with those people wanes.

Contact a Staffing Firm Today

If you have employees who seem to be thinking of quitting, a staffing agency can help. We can make sure that you offer competitive salaries and benefits. We can develop employee appreciation strategies.

We can also help you develop a recruitment plan and assist in the hiring process. We’re happy to help. Contact us today.