The latest research by Timothy M. Gardner, Utah State University, Chad H. Van Iddekinge Florida State University, and Peter W. Hom Arizona State University provides employers with the signs that employees exhibit when they are about to quit their job. The researchers uncovered behaviors dubbed “pre-quitting behaviors that are strong predictors of voluntary quits within 12 months”.
Here is the pre-quitting behaviors found by the researchers:
- Their work productivity has decreased more than usual.
- They have acted less like a team player than usual.
- They have been doing the minimum amount of work more frequently than usual.
- They have been less interested in pleasing their manager than usual.
- They have been less willing to commit to long-term timelines than usual.
- They have exhibited a negative change in attitude.
- They have exhibited less effort and work motivation than usual.
- They have exhibited less focus on job related matters than usual.
- They have expressed dissatisfaction with their current job more frequently than usual.
- They have expressed dissatisfaction with their supervisor more frequently than usual.
- They have left early from work more frequently than usual.
- They have lost enthusiasm for the mission of the organization.
- They have shown less interest in working with customers than usual.
The researchers addressed the next logical question. What should managers do when someone they manage is exhibiting these behaviors? The advice the researchers gave was to focus on retaining star employees in the short-term. One technique is to use what are called “stay interviews.” Instead of conducting only exit interviews to learn what caused good employees to quit, hold regular one-on-one interviews with current high-performing employees to learn what keeps them working in your organization and what could be changed to keep them from leaving.