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Azlina handed a white envelope to Helen. “I’m sorry, Helen. I know this may be bad timing but I had made up my mind. I am resigning.” Helen’s heart sank immediately and there are hundreds of questions on her mind suddenly bursting looking for answers with one tops them all, “Why didn’t I sense this coming earlier?”

While busy working to meet a certain target or deadline, most employers may have missed out the signs of an impending turnover. When a situation such as above occurred, it may be a little too late to salvage. A valuable employee that resigns is a great loss to an organization.

Most employers may try to “cure” the situation by making a counter-offer but most often than not a person that already has alternative job offers may not be keen and it is probably too late to do anything. The best solution is to take “preventive” steps by taking positive action before the turnover process gets to this point.

If we care to be a little bit observant, there are telltale signs of impending turnover. Employees provide clues and it is for the immediate superiors to spot them and take preventive measure.

If there are changes to the following, the immediate superiors should quickly take notice:-

• A “morning” person reporting to work later. For example, an employee that used to clock in half an hour earlier to have breakfast in the office is clocking on the dot now.

• Taking medical leave and days off more than the usual pattern

• Longer than usual lunch hours or coffee breaks

• Use up all the annual leave on short notice

• Increased number of private phone calls made or received

• Having private conversations on the hand phone at meeting rooms, away from colleagues

• Miss out project dead lines more frequently than usual

• Less participation in meetings – fewer suggestions to improve work

• Lesser questions on work or project assignments

• “Day-dreaming” at work as though his mind is somewhere else

• Unwillingness to volunteer on ad-hoc projects

• Overall lower productivity

Although valuable employees may still leave eventually but by detecting such telltale signs earlier, employers can prevent an unwanted turnover or at least, not caught unaware when an employee is throwing in the towel.

Wouldn’t it be better if Helen can approach Azlina earlier and asked, “Of late, I have been noticing some changes in your behavior and I am slightly concerned. Can we talk about it?”