When an employee quits – what’s left behind?

I’ve been reading blogs and listening to talk shows. It surprised me that there were so many of them busy discussing quitting one’s job.

Quitting a current job is a necessary step to new adventures and personal achievement.  A new start can be intoxicating and exciting.

This is not always the case.  Too often chaos has been left behind and no one benefits.

From the viewpoint of the company they left behind, it puts everything at risk.  That shoulder to the wheel is gone, what expertise they contributed is now missing.  And now a new person has to be found and maybe even trained.  An expensive task.

Did you know that there are reasons a person leaves?  To be sure there can be bad conditions one has to reject so that they can survive better.  But have you noticed or taken a look to see if really was so bad?

Or maybe it was made bad by the person now loudly leaving? Take a closer look, did that person make mistakes, make little nasty comments to people around? Maybe incomplete tasks that might have been detrimental to the overall completion of a particular project.

These and many more like that are often reason enough for a person to have to find fault with you and your company, and so justify a departure.

Warning Signs

Here are some of the warning signs to look for:

Low production – expectations are not being met.  This is especially true if it’s a change from what normally has been happening in a section of your company..

1. Upsets in an area – “office” politics gone wild.  Personnel might not be getting along, or avoiding each other, or any such indication of difficulties.
2. Complaints being registered, accusations made and overheard snide or snippy comments.  Something is going on.
3. Sudden absenteeism, even if random times, and it hasn’t really happened before.

All of the above can be detected in advance and resultant damage prevented.

Test them!

Test your staff on a regular basis – like performance assessments or to detect specific situations.  You need a picture of what is currently happening with your employees, and detect any potential risks.  Doing this routinely could help you ensure a smoother working relationship for all, and maybe prevent the surprise of the person who feels he must leave in a hurry.

2015 and profitability awaits.