Dear Annie: I saw your post a few weeks ago about how to tell whether managers are thinking of moving on, but what are the signs that employees are planning to quit? One of my best people is a lot less enthusiastic lately than he used to be. He's also been absent quite a bit, to the point where he missed a client deadline, which is totally unlike him. I've tried speaking with him and asking whether everything is okay and if there is anything I can do to help, to no avail. I don't have much experience as a team leader, so I could use some advice on what to do next. --Concerned in Cleveland

Dear Concerned: No doubt, you aren't the only one worried about losing star employees. About 2 million people quit their jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week, and that number seems likely to rise as the economy slowly but surely improves. "But people rarely leave without warning," says Paul McDonald, senior executive director of global staffing firm Robert Half International. "Employers tell us they often see five signs that someone is getting ready to quit."

    Unfortunately, you've already noticed three of them: A drop in enthusiasm for, and engagement in, the work; more frequent absences; and a sudden increase in errors, like that missed deadline.

    Of course, any or all of these could be explained by something other than a job hunt (a personal problem the employee doesn't want to tell you about, for instance), so how about the other two? "Watch out for less frequent interaction with the boss, as if the employee is purposely avoiding you," says McDonald. "Another red flag is coming to work in more formal attire than usual," which practically screams "job interview."

    If you have team members aged 18 to 34, they may well be carrying on a job hunt right in front of you. Almost half (48%) of Millennials, in a new survey by Robert Half division Accountemps, say they have no qualms about searching job boards, taking calls from recruiters or prospective employers, or polishing their resumes at the office, rather than waiting until they get home.

    "It's interesting that the willingness to use company resources for a job search declines as people get older," McDonald observes. Only 13% of workers aged 35 to 44, and 9% of those 45 to 54, say they would job hunt at work, he notes, adding, "You have to figure that younger workers lack the experience to know what's appropriate, or what the negative consequences could be. They're also less loyal to employers in general."

亲爱的安妮：我读了您几周前的一篇文章，里面谈到了如何判断公司管理人员是否在考虑跳槽，但如果是员工打算辞职，会表现出哪些迹象呢？最近，我手下一名最得力的员工不再像以前那样充满热情。他还缺勤过几次，甚至错过了客户的截止日期，这可不是他的风格。我曾尝试跟他沟通，看他是否出了什么问题，希望做些什么来帮助他，可结果毫无用处。我并没有太多担任团队领导者的经验，所以，我接下来该怎么办？请您给我一些建议。——CIC

亲爱的CIC：不是只有你一个人担心失去自己的明星员工。据美国劳工统计局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)上周公布，6月份约有200万人辞职，而且随着经济稳步好转，这个数字还会继续增加。不过，全球人力资源公司罗致恒富（Robert Half International）高级执行董事保罗•麦克唐纳德说：“打算辞职的员工多多少少都会表现出一点迹象。雇主们告诉我们，有员工准备辞职的时候，他们通常会表现出五种迹象。”

    很不幸的是，你已经发现了其中的三种：热情减退，工作积极性下降；更频繁的缺勤；失误突然增加，比如错过截止日期等。

    当然了，这些情况或许都跟跳槽无关（比如员工不想让你知道的私人问题），可另外两个呢？麦克唐纳德说道：“留意员工与上司之间的互动频率是否在降低，就好像他在故意躲着你一样。另外一个警告信号是上班时的穿着比以往更加正式，”因为这通常意味着“参加面试”。

    如果你的团队成员在18至34岁之间，他们可能就在你的眼皮底下找工作。罗致恒富Accountemps部门最近一项调查显示，约有一半（48%）的千禧一代称，对于在办公室里找工作，接听招聘人员或潜在雇主的电话，或者修改自己的履历，他们从来不会感到良心不安，他们可不愿意等回家后再来做这些事。

    麦克唐纳德发现：“有趣的是，年龄越大的人，越不愿意利用公司资源求职。”他表示，35至44岁和45至54岁这两个年龄段的人表示将在工作期间求职的分别仅有13%和9%。而且他还说：“你必须理解，年轻的员工缺少足够的经验，他们不知道哪些做法是恰当的，或者他们的行为会造成怎样的负面影响。而且，他们普遍对雇主缺乏忠诚。”

    What can you do now to keep your star? Even though you've already tried asking him what's bugging him, McDonald suggests you try again. "Retaining top performers is one of the most important things managers do," he says. "A big part of it is communication, in particular finding out what motivates this person and what would keep him engaged. It might be a promotion, or flextime, or steering the employee toward projects in other parts of the company that would expand their knowledge and keep them challenged."

    While you're at this, try to find out how the employee sees his career long-term. Top performers often get restless when they feel stuck in their current role, with no clear path to something better, so "talk about what opportunities you see ahead for this person, either in your own area or elsewhere in the company," McDonald adds.

    If you get in the habit of having these conversations with your most valued people on a regular basis, McDonald says, you'll have less reason to wonder if they're job hunting in the future.

    "As managers, we spend most of our time on problems, including underperforming employees, and on getting our own work done. Budgeting time for high performers becomes almost an afterthought," he observes. "What works a lot better is flipping that order on its head, putting top employees first, then our own work, then problem employees." Easier said than done but, as holding on to stars gets harder, it's worth a try.

Talkback: If you're thinking of changing jobs, what would convince you to stay with your current company? If you're a manager, how do you keep employees engaged? Leave a comment below.

    那么，如何留住自己的明星员工呢？虽然你已经尝试过询问他是否面临什么难题，但麦克唐纳德还是建议你再试一次。他认为：“留住优秀员工是管理者最重要的职责。其中很大一部分在于沟通，尤其是找出哪些措施可以激励员工，调动其积极性。比如升职，或许是弹性工作时间，也可能是将这名员工调任到公司其他部门，以扩大员工的知识面，令其始终面临挑战。”

    当你面临这种局面的时候，要尽量弄清员工对个人职业的长远看法。一旦优秀员工觉得自己被困在当前的职务当中，看不到未来向好的方向，他们往往会变得焦躁不安，所以麦克唐纳德建议：“讨论一下在你看来，这名员工未来在你的领域或在整个公司内会有什么样的机会。”

    麦克唐纳德表示，如果你能养成习惯，经常与最重视的员工进行类似的对话，将来也就没有什么理由担心他们打算跳槽了。

    他说：“身为管理者，我们把大多数时间都用于解决问题，比如表现不佳的员工，或者完成我们自己的工作。管理者往往想不到预留时间给优秀员工，事后却追悔莫及。把优秀员工放在首位，然后是我们自己的本职工作，最后才是问题员工，这样的顺序安排更加有效。”虽然说起来容易做起来难，但总比好员工出了问题之后再去挽留他们要容易一些，所以这条建议值得尝试。

反馈：如果你正在考虑换工作，有哪些因素能说服你留在当前的公司？如果你是一名管理者，你如何保持员工的积极性？欢迎评论。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓