
It’s that time of the year again when we all get somewhat of an opportunity to take a little bit of a timeout and relax, reflect and plan. Well I’ll take 2 out of the 3, Christmas with my family is anything other than relaxing, but I digress.
As leaders, it’s a time to take stock and look towards the future while taking learnings from the year just gone. But don’t forget, our people are doing the same thing and some of them are using this time to decide on whether your organisation is the right place for them to be in 2020 and beyond. Some of them have already made the decision to split!
Have you seen any of these signs from your people this year?
- They’re just not at work: A sure fire sign of disengagement is frequent absences. Don’t get me wrong here, people need holidays and time to recover when they’re sick, but an increase in last minute unplanned absences could mean that you’re about to lose one of your people.
- Signs of dissatisfaction: A sudden attitude shift and/or a rise in complaints that relate to work could indicate that someone isn’t happy doing what they’re doing. In cases like this, the horse may have already bolted, but like all situations, catching a shift in attitude early could be the difference between a new year’s resignation and a productive and performing team member.
- Gaslighting: It’s an unfortunate but all too common thing to burn bridges on the way out. Employees who are causing friction within your team may be preparing to light a match. Beware of the gas lighters!
- Punctuality: Everyone is late from time to time, but when late becomes a habit and there is no fear of consequence, you’ve likely got a case of someone who’s checked out and really doesn’t care.
Anything there raising red flags for you? There are loads more signs and I’d be keen to hear from you on what you’ve seen in the past, but just know that while we plan to move our organisations forward, not everyone is on the bus. Keep a look out for disengagement, save yourself a headache and tackle it early.
Happy Holidays – JD