Turnover is a costly expense. Everybody knows that. Well did you know there is a unique method to help prevent high turnover? Let’s look at tool that has been around for a while and the new kid on the block.
Exit interviews have been around for a while and may uncover information such as
- Activities about which you may be unaware that exist in your organization that drive people away. These activities can include bullying, sexual harassment and even violence.
- Information on the demographics of who leaves your organization more frequently. Is it males, females, executives or minorities? This could alert you to diversity issues.
- More honest answers than if the employee is staying employed at the organization.
- People leave because they feel unappreciated. Check your rewards program. Do managers need training on providing relevant and consistent feedback?
If you need to formulate the best exit interview questions, then you might want to consult professional companies like Qualtrics for professional assistance.
Abandoning exit interviews might be tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath water. That being said, they may also be closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. Let’s look at a relatively new idea that many organizations are using that seems to be producing good results.
Stay Interviews – Your Key to Freedom from Retention Detention
The new kid on the block is stay interviews. Some research suggests that as much as 38% of an employee population is seeking employment elsewhere at any given time. One source suggests that stay interviews provide information about what motivates a particular employee. Assessments achieve the same result – and on a more deep level. However, the stay interview can produce motivational information specific to the organization or in the reverse, what is lacking that might provide some level of motivation. According to Monster.com, they can also provide supplemental information to exit interviews and employee surveys. That information can then be useful for recruiting strategies. Monster.com goes on to suggest that this information is more actionable as there is no second guessing information on surveys. Further, this is information that can be acted upon immediately in some cases and is probably of a more positive and productive nature.
Shooting Your Way Out of Retention Detention
Of course, stay interviews are not a magic bullet and there are drawbacks. Stay interviews, or conversations, are, for the most part, between an employee and his or her manager. How likely is an employee going to say they have or are considering leaving the organization? How will the employee respond if there are trust issues between him/her and the manager? In cases like this, the meeting might more resemble the shootout at the OK Corral. At least in an exit interview, the employee is likely to shoot from the hip or, be more honest as there is nothing to lose.
Some claim that stay interviews are neither interviews nor surveys but a conversation. Indeed, a strategic management tool is having a weekly conversation with each employee that achieves the same result. From this viewpoint, stay interviews may simply fall under the coaching umbrella. If you want to consider trying stay interviews, here is how to plan for and structure them.
Laying the Plan
Training Train managers on the following elements
- How to conduct one-on-one meetings
- Active listening
- Good note taking
- Asking open-ended questions
- Follow-up
Frequency
- In High turnover industries such as fast food: 30 to 40 days after hire.
- More stable industries should conduct stay interviews 30, 60 and 90 days after hire, after that either once or twice yearly.
Who Should Managers Interview?
- A and B performers – Directing stay interviews at A and B level performers seems to be the most beneficial. Interviewing top performers reportedly decreases turnover by just over 70%.
Sample Questions
- If you won a million dollars and quit working, what would you miss most here?
- How can I support you?
- What is your dream job?
- What talents do you possess that that you would like to use more often?
- What do you feel are you best accomplishments here?
- Are there things about your job or this organization that might cause you to leave?
In Summary
Certainly, any good manager wants to use tools that help prevent landing in retention detention. Retaining employees makes everyone’s job easier, increases productivity and helps reduce expensive turnover costs. It is essential to use these tools in a timely and consistent manner. However, whatever method you use in you organization, it is good to remember that collecting data from the use of the tools and then failing to act on it is a lesson in futility. Follow-up and the use of data is a critical piece in both managing employees and bailing out of retention detention.
Graphic Credit: Big Stock
