Are YOUR employees happy?
In the IT Industry if you’re paying attention, it should never come as a surprise that a key employee leaves. Most employees who are thinking of leaving will tip their hand in one way or another. Here are some telltale signs.
- Noticeable change in attitude.
- If an active and involved employee becomes passive and uncaring it may mean that the employee figures it’s a waste of time and energy to make waves.
- Sharp increase in personal phone calls. They may be making arrangements for interviews or conducting telephone interviews.
- Less communication with management. Employees thinking of leaving want to avoid the boss and want to be less visible.
- Change in vacation pattern or schedule. Employees often ask for vacation schedules to be pushed up so that they can follow up on job leads or to take a vacation before they leave.
- Longer lunch breaks or more frequent absenteeism. They may be out interviewing.
- Noticeable improvement in grooming. Could be a sign they are prepared for job interviews.
- Neater desk. Especially when personal knick-knacks begin to vanish, they could be taking them home. On the other hand, if the employee’s desk has always been neat and now it is piled with stacks of papers, it could be a sign that they are leaving and no longer care about neatness.
- No longer takes work home. When an employee who generally brought work home, no longer does, it may be a signal a change in attitude and a sign the employee is about to quit.
What to do when you suspect someone is planning a move
If you want the employee to stay, don’t wait until the employee accepts a job offer from another company. Speak to them in person and emphasize their value to the firm and future plans, compliment performance. If you can and feel it is appropriate, you may want to increase their pay and or perks that are of particular interest to them.
If the employee has already accepted another job, do not make a counter-offer. Studies show that employees that accept counter-offers generally leave within a year. When you make a counter-offer to one employee, others may resort to the same tactic.
Rebuilding Your Talent Pool
Whether they’re escorted out that day, or staying longer, your job of finding a replacement begins. With growing demand for talent, your company’s ability to remain competitive may depend on partnering with the right recruiter.
Recruiting competency expert Lou Adler explains, “Unless you have a big employer brand, it’s impossible to attract the 83% of fully-employed professionals who aren’t looking using the same sourcing and recruiting techniques used for the 17% who are. As a result, the recruiters involved and processes used must be different.”
Savvy hiring managers will heed Thomas Edison’s timeless advice:” It pays to plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” Interested in an expert in recruiting elusive, talented passive candidates? Drop me a line or give me a call.
I QUIT!
Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.
© 2018 Connie Dorigan. All rights reserved.
This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.
