Warning Signs your Best Employee is About to Quit

Finding and recruiting the best talent is not easy, but what’s even harder is retaining them. The cost of employee turnover for businesses is high in general, and the cost can be much more expensive when the departing employee is one of your top performers as they are usually deeply embedded within the social system of your company.

Keeping this in mind, it’s your job as an HR to be on the lookout for any red flags that your best employees are about to leave and to try to prevent that.

Here are some warning signs that your best employees are about to quit:

A Sudden Change in Their Appearance

People like to dress up every now and then, but when your favorite employee who usually dresses casually starts showing up in a suit and tie, this should ring a bell to you. Sometimes the case is the opposite, when employees start to lose interest in their jobs, they might start paying less attention to how they dress.

Taking More Leaves and Days-off than Usual

Being late for work, taking too many sick days-off, extended annual vacations, longer breaks, or sudden disappearance during the workday are all signs that your employee is disengaged or is actually looking (or even interviewing) for another job.

A Sudden drop in Productivity, Involvement, and Interest

When you notice that the performance of your superstar employee is suddenly changing, and he/she is showing less interest in their job, missing deadlines, and stopped coming up with innovative ideas and suggestions those are all bad indicators. Another serious indicator is when the employee no longer seems to be interested in advancing their career at your company. This – most probably – means that he/she is seeking a position somewhere else.

Avoiding Long-Term Commitments, Projects, and Deadlines

When an employee starts avoiding long-term assignments and projects and tries to pass on those tasks to other employees, this might be a major indicator that they’re trying to delegate their work to other employees to prepare for a smooth exit.

Being More Active on Online Recruitment Websites

Being active on online professional networks such as Akhtaboot and LinkedIn is normal as it can be considered a form of networking; however, when the behavior of your employee suddenly changes and he/she starts to put in more time to work on their online presence and CV, this might be a warning sign that they’re actually looking for new opportunities.