The Workplace Coach

If you’ve been in a leadership role managing teams for any length of time, chances are you will have experienced the surprise of an unexpected resignation. Sometimes, while we are focused on improving underperforming team members, leaders may inadvertently neglect investing similar effort into retaining their top talent.  Too often we tend to reward our top performers with extra work and minimal attention.

Poor performers or disengaged employees will often exhibit predictable behaviours, making their departure less of a shock. In contrast, when a star performer requests a meeting, you might assume it’s about a project update and it can come as a bit of shock when they announce their resignation.

In these moments, as a leader, you might reflect on how you missed the signs of discontent or restlessness. It’s crucial to be looking out for these signs in today’s environment of passive recruitment and talent poaching via social media.

Here are six indicators that someone in your team might be contemplating resignation:

1. Increased Absenteeism: Notice patterns like more frequent single-day absences or unexplained leave, possibly indicating interviews or disengagement.
2. Withdrawal from Responsibilities: Employees planning to leave may decline new project roles or opt out of organisational activities they once engaged in.
3. Decreased Discretionary Effort: High-performing employees may start working strictly to the clock or showing less initiative, signalling reduced commitment.
4. Decline in Productivity: A drop in performance, especially among top achievers, might indicate waning motivation or external job interests.
5. Blurred Work-Personal Boundaries: Increased personal distractions at work, such as excessive social media use or personal calls, can suggest disengagement.
6. Lack of Interest in Development: Employees who stop seeking training or career growth discussions may be planning to move on.

When any of these signs appear, it’s important that you move quickly and initiate an open conversation about your observations:

• Tell them what you’ve noticed.  Note any changes in performance, attitude or behaviour.
• Reflect on Role Fit: Ask them what they might be looking for or what they aren’t getting in their current role. Consider whether there might be some adjustments you could make to better meet the employee’s needs.
• Invite them to talk about it: Approach the employee transparently with a view to really understanding their concerns, and then explore solutions with them. Be authentic and genuine.
• Accept Reality: Recognize when an employee may have outgrown the organisation’s offerings. You may not be able to give them what they need, be upfront about it.

At the end of the day, not all employees can or should be retained. As the leader it falls to you to decide whether efforts to retain an employee align with business goals and employee needs. Addressing issues early can sometimes salvage the relationship but it is also important to acknowledge when it’s best to part ways amicably.