As soon as someone resigns you realise you’ve missed the telltale signs that they are unhappy. We want to ensure you pick up on these behaviours. Here are four top reasons we hear from job hunters who have reached out to us:
- Unmotivated
- Disengaged with the role/company
- Spending excessive time on external projects
- Stress – work burn out or life changes
1. UNMOTIVATED
This candidate explains they are happy with the team dynamic, organisation and manager. But are bored with running the same reports and writing the same insights every month. They can’t see any internal opportunities for growth. They may felt unheard when they have raised the topic with their manager.
This has now become a problem. They could be arriving late for work, leaving early or having longer lunch breaks every day. They seem distant, bored and have stopped contributing in team meetings.
Solutions?
– Having open conversations in work meetings.
– Set up a career development check-in discussion.
– Ask for feedback: do they have any ideas to improve current work reports and tasks?
– Encourage open thinking from the team. Set a task to identify ways to improve the work of the team.
2. DISENGAGED WITH THEIR ROLE / COMPANY
This may occur after a restructure, change in executive management, cancellation of a planned large project or lack of growth and boredom.
They might be saying to us :
“I feel like I’ve plateaued and not learning anything”
“I’m not finding the role engaging enough”
“I don’t receive enough support as lots of people have left and management are stretched”
“We’ve had a restructure and lots of people are leaving – morale is low”
“I need more work life balance. I’m always working late doing 60-hour weeks and weekends.”
“My billing targets don’t take into consideration for my training and mentoring staff.”
“I’m looking for a busy position where I can progress, there isn’t much work coming in here”.
Disengaged staff members are less willing to work on new projects. They may seem quieter in team meetings, not suggesting any ideas or new ways of working. They may have stopped debating or pushing back on stakeholders. They seem settled, but actually they are no longer invested or interested in their role.
Instead, they tend to think outside of their role. Specifically, how to find a new job outside of the organisation.
Solutions?
Pull this team member aside, perhaps suggest going for a coffee chat. Be open and let them know that you’ve noticed that they seem a little quieter and that you want to check in that everything is okay. Is there any support that they need? How satisfied are they with their role and work? This informal approach can then lead to more formal career development planning meetings.
3. SPENDING EXCESSIVE TIME ON AN EXTERNAL PROJECT
Q. Do you have a staff member who is ignoring their regular work tasks in favour of an external project?
Q. Do they seem to be focused on attending external conferences? Volunteering for external committees, and looking for industry speaking opportunities?
Q. Are they posting more on LinkedIn?
Could be that they are focusing on their external persona and building external contacts.
This is the opposite to a committed staff member who will operate on the 80/20 focus rule. 80 percent on how they are perceived internally by stakeholders, executives, peers and colleagues. And only 20 percent on seeking out external professional development.
Solutions?
This is a key time to arrange an ad hoc / mid year career planning discussion. If you want to retain them, find out what their career development needs are. What opportunities can your organisation create?
4. STRESS: WORK BURNOUT OR LIFE CHANGES
Have you noticed changes in a staff members health and lifestyle?
– Arriving to work late
– Personal presentation is suffering
– Not delivering work on time as they usually would
– Being unreliable
– Showing signs of moodiness or even sadness to depression
– Taking days off work at random times
The reasons could be work or personal life. They may be desperate enough that the idea of a new job will ‘fix’ everything for them.
Solutions?
If you notice a staff member making changes for the worse, get a conversation started.
– Set up regular recurring meetings with them
– Discuss their feelings on their current workload
– Ask how they are feeling about their job, career and broader life goals
– Leverage your HR/People and Culture partner. Ask them to run a team session on balancing stress, and making offers for follow-up one on one sessions
– Share information links to external short courses and interesting podcasts
– Ask the team to share anything helpful that they have used or come across.
Final thoughts on retaining talent
Keeping your team operating at a productive level with a positive culture is a key part of a managers role. Recognising some of the signs that you may be at risk of losing a good team member is imperative. This will help you to refocus and be more engaged with your staff.
And finally, be prepared for discussions on how the organisation can meet their needs as a valued team member.
If you would like to have a chat about your team and the marketplace, I would be happy to connect.
– Helen
Troy Recruitment is a boutique firm with a wealth of knowledge and long-standing relationships. We’re here to guide you through every stage of your recruitment journey.
Photo credit: #MartenBjork via Unsplash
