How can I tell if my best employees are getting ready to leave?
Why would they want to leave?

How can I keep them?This article looks at how to tell if you're in trouble, and what to do about it

Top 10 Clues Your Best Employees are Leaving

* They start dressing better
* They take lunches at different times
* Their production drops off
* They seem "quiet" or "down"
* They request vacation one day at a time
* They are "sick" more often
* They stop championing their positions
* They stop volunteering
* They get more incoming phone calls than usual and number 10
* They ask you for a reference

Why Would They Want To Leave?

Most
employees cite "money" as their reason for leaving. In some cases this
is true. However, we know that money is a satisfier, not a motivator.
As long as an employee receives what they consider adequate
compensation, more money won't buy more production. And lack of more
money won't drive them away. Many departing employees use money as
their excuse for leaving because it is a "safe" answer.

How Can I Keep The Good Ones?

People
stay with something until the pain of staying exceeds the expected pain
of leaving. Most people who are really good at something have a low
'pain of leaving' because they know they can find something else. The
trick to keeping them is to minimize the 'pain of staying'.

The
factors that add to the 'pain of staying' are well documented. People
who are under appreciated or unchallenged won't stay around long.