Hiring and retention are two sides of the same coin. You know that you need to invest time, money and effort to recruit new employees for your company. That’s why when you strike gold and recruit a top performer, you need to work twice as hard to ensure that you are able to keep them.

Of course, the last thing you would want to happen is for your top performers to leave you. Here are five warning signs that foretell an upcoming resignation:

1. Lackluster performance – When a top performer suddenly starts appearing late for work, or begins to hand over less than satisfactory outputs, it could either mean that he’s not that into the job anymore or that he’s lost motivation. It is a good retention strategy to talk to the employee to know what the problem is before it escalates. If this lack of motivation is not addressed immediately, the employee’s performance may worsen up to the point wherein he’ll just quit. If his lack of motivation springs from an issue in the workplace, put an end to it immediately if at all possible.

2. Unsolicited feedback from other employees – When you start receiving unsolicited feedback from other employees about a particular employee, then it’s time to make a move. The person may seem to be the same for you, but then looks can be deceiving. He might be just putting up a face for you. Listen to what people have to say. Usually, workers air out their problems to their co-workers. Learning to value feedback from your employees is a factor that can dramatically improve hiring and retention.

3. Life-changing events – Sometimes, employees don’t leave because he wants to. At times, employees might not be able to cope up with the rigors of the office because they are encountering personal problems. An employee might be having marriage issues, or a close family member might be in a life-threatening condition. Talk to the employee and offer concessions, depending on his need. You can offer to give him less workload for a couple of days or even suggest for him to take a leave of absence. What’s important is you have to make your employee feel that you care for them, and you are willing to extend help when they need it the most. Otherwise, the crushing experience they’re encountering might just force them to resign, even if they don’t intend to.  Be aware of their life-changing events will allow you to have a conversation to determine if any concessions need to be made or there is any way you can help.

4. The job seeker – Other top performers might be actively seeking for another job while still working with you. It may either be because they’re not satisfied with the pay, or are just seeking personal fulfillment that they are not getting in their present work. It is easy to watch out for these types of employees. Usually, they start getting dressed up more frequently, and receive more calls than necessary. Other employees might even be taking their breaks at odd times, or leave the office earlier or come in later than is typical. In these instances, you may need to confront the employee and ask if he’s seeking for another job, and try to find out if you can still win him over, or if he’s already a lost cause.

5. The power achiever – Meanwhile, there are those types of employees who perform better and try to achieve more for the company in their last days in the office. Such behavior can spring from his desire to leave a lasting mark on you as an employer, or out of respect. Power achievers may want to leave their jobs due to better offers, yet if you could detect such occurrences immediately, you may still have the chance to win them over.

Managers should always be on the look-out for the tell-tale signs of employee resignation. Hiring and retention policies should always be balanced in such a way that your efforts to hire good people are equal to your efforts to keep them.