Detecting Employees Who Are Job Hunting.

• Position: Brief Article

In today's competitive job market, it's easy for managers to feel a bit uncertain about the loyalty of their team. In fact, according to a nationwide poll, 60% of executives believe that retaining skilled administrative staff is more difficult today than it was just five years ago. OfficeTeam, a nationwide staffing service specializing in highly skilled administrative professionals, suggests that there are ways to detect and address this human resources issue.

"Given today's competitive hiring market, managers must constantly provide the intellectual challenge and recognition necessary to retain key employees; argues Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. "This is particularly true of administrative staff who have become pivotal in an increasingly fastpaced environment, and whose technical skills are highly marketable." She recommends that managers should watch for the following six farewell flags--early warning signs that an employee may be looking for a new opportunity:

Going solo. A once-active contributor to group projects who now keeps to him or herself may be staying out of sight to line up a new job.

Changing patterns. An organized employee who now has a messy desk may be less concerned with appearances. The reverse is also true--an unusually clean work area could mean the staff member has already "checked out."

Dress up days. A normally casual employee who suddenly shows up in suits may be going on...