This simple technique can help you retain your best employees
It’s Friday afternoon—and your favorite team member’s last day before they move on to a new organization. You wanted to work through their final handoffs, but they’re in HR’s office. And in that meeting, for the first time in three years, someone asks them: “What made you decide to leave, and what could we have done differently?” They answer, in full detail. They joined because the company’s…
As the final workday arrives for a cherished team member, they gather with HR for their exit interview. In this moment, they candidly share that their decision to leave stemmed from unmet expectations and a lack of development opportunities. They had been promised promotion after promotion, but these promises never came to fruition.
Moreover, their one-on-one meetings were so scarce that they often had to prioritize other tasks over meaningful discussions about their job satisfaction and future. Exit interviews provide a raw and revealing conversation, but they often occur too late, and the individual who could have acted upon the feedback is no longer there.
Studies show that 42% of those who voluntarily leave their job believe their manager or organization could have acted to retain them. Gallup research reveals that in the final three months before leaving, 45% of employees never received any conversation about their job satisfaction, performance, or future from their manager or other leaders.
Some advocates recommend a "stay interview" as a solution, where the same questions are posed while the employee is still in the organization. While HR can run these interviews, employees often prefer speaking with their direct manager. Confronting someone with a "stay interview" can feel formal and invasive, especially when HR is present to take notes.
A more direct approach is to have the conversation yourself, demonstrating your visibility into each person's day-to-day and expressing genuine concern for their career and personal growth.
Before initiating the stay interview, it is crucial to inform the entire team about your intentions. By sharing the plan with everyone, you mitigate assumptions and ensure that no one feels singled out or unfairly judged based on the conversation. During the stay interview, it is essential to ask the right questions that elicit honest and meaningful responses.
Instead of using formal titles such as "stay interview," focus on questions that uncover what employees value most, what hinders their progress, and what they aspire to achieve. Some effective questions include inquiring about the aspects of their job they would miss the most, what tasks they dread or procrastinate, what skills they excel at but are not currently utilizing, their long-term career goals and how they can help achieve them, and what would make them consider leaving the company.
As you listen without interruption, it is important to maintain a non-defensive stance and use the Pause-Consider-Act framework. Allow the employee to express their thoughts genuinely, without rushing to defend or explain any potential issues. If an employee reveals their contemplation of leaving, it is vital to recognize the information you have received and not penalize them for being candid.
Rather than making promises you cannot keep, commit to following up on the insights gained during the stay interview. Sort the feedback into three categories: what you can change immediately, what you can advocate for, and what you cannot alter. For the former, prioritize implementing the suggested changes within a week. For the latter, discuss the constraints and propose alternative solutions.
Finally, for the latter category, be transparent about what is beyond your control and provide a timeline for when a resolution can be expected.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
