Are You Looking for An Exit Sign?

You know the feeling, you’re frustrated, you feel like you’ve tried everything, there has been training, opportunity to improve, endless meetings – you’re wondering what else you can possibly do.

This staff member is not performing, but should you really be looking to end their employment?

Surely there is another way?

The thought of firing them feels overwhelming, mean and let’s be honest, the thought of recruiting for the role again doesn’t exactly have you jumping with excitement.

So ,you’re looking for a sign, something that will tell you which way you should go. But the reality is if you leave it that long, looking for a blindingly obvious sign, it’s likely you’ve let it go too far.

If you’re waiting for your employee to make the decision for you and exit themselves, there are certainly some signs you can be looking out for.

High absenteeism is the #1 sign the person has ‘checked out’ and if they are not actively looking to exit, they certainly aren’t planning to stay long term, or start being productive and reliable any time soon. The reality is if you have high absenteeism rates for any one individual, or a team as a whole, you have an engagement issue. That is something you can change, you can turn that scenario around, you just need a re engagement strategy.

Changes to routine, focus and demeanour is the #2 sign that they’ve checked out and may be planning an exit. These changes can be subtle and harder to spot, but you’re looking for things like the once focused employee becoming easily distracted, someone suddenly becoming a clock watcher when they weren’t previously and a general change in attitude and demeanour.

Perhaps the clearest sign that not only they have checked out, but they are actively planning an exit, is that they become distanced from their usual social circles at work. With a hybrid and remote workforce this may be tricker than it once was, but if someone who usually loved a team lunch and Friday drinks suddenly starts making excuses to miss those things, they are actively disconnecting.

But what happens when your employee isn’t self exiting and you’re seriously considering whether you need to look at an exit strategy, how do you know then that actually is a good idea?

Exiting someone from your business is not something to take lightly, but on some occasions it is actually the right thing to do, and is actually the kindest thing to both them and your business.

These situations might include some the business has outgrown the role, or the role has outgrown the person, or certainly when they have become so disengaged they are toxic and causing mayhem within your team

But the #1 reason you will be looking for an exit sign for an employee is when there is a complete mismatch in values, and they aren’t the right cultural fit for your team. My firm belief is that no matter how technically brilliant someone is, if the fit isn’t right, if there is no alignment in values, they will never be a great long term employee in your business, and even worse the damage they can do and the negative impact on the team can be time consuming and costly.

Of course an exit strategy is not always the answer, and in fact it’s not the most common answer to a problem employee. Knowing what type of problem you have is the key to uncovering the actual right solution, and whether it is in fact an exit strategy.

We have a resource to help you:

Get your FREE copy of “Is It Me or Is It Them? Your guide to understanding problem employees, without opening a can of worms, even if you hate confrontation.”

This free eBook will help you identify what type of problem employee you’re dealing with, and the exact solution to that problem. Get your copy here.