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Candy Ho is the inaugural Assistant Professor of Integrated Career and Graduate Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley and Chair of the CERIC Board.
During the pandemic, a lot of attention has been paid to those who have made career advancements, changed jobs or left the workforce. But what about the workers who stay?
Once an employee leaves, his colleagues are usually left to pick up the slack during the search for a replacement. They inherit more work and responsibilities – sometimes with more compensation or support from colleagues, but often not.
This is especially challenging amid the ongoing stress of the pandemic. As people continue to take on a greater workload over time, they may begin to experience burnout—if they haven’t already. A survey conducted by Mental Health Research Canada in December 2021 found that a third of the 5,500 Canadians surveyed felt burned out at work. Additionally, only 35 percent report that their employer offers initiatives and policies to prevent burnout. Under these conditions, employees who stay can quickly become employees who leave.
Many organizations conduct employee exit interviews to better understand why they leave and look for opportunities for improvement. This is important, but employers often overlook a vital opportunity to gather intelligence to inform recruitment and retention by overlooking the need for input from those who stick around.
Enter: the stay interview.
A stay interview is more than a simple placement with loyal employees. It’s a career conversation between managers and staff that helps organizations understand their employees’ personal “whys”: what keeps them motivated at work and what their employers can do to keep them engaged.
By following these five components of an effective retention interview, leaders can unlock benefits for organizations and employees:
Start by recognizing the efforts of employees who consistently perform well and those who have gone above and beyond during a chaotic, difficult time. Be specific about the individual’s achievements and how they positively impact the organization and their colleagues.
Invite them to share their proudest moments and the ways they rose to the occasion. What accomplishments gave them the most satisfaction and why? How can the organization or manager help them generate more of these successes?
Encourage the employee to consider the biggest challenge. This will help them identify qualities and actions that have enabled them to overcome obstacles and/or how their organization can support them with additional resources and training.
Ask them what aspects of their job motivate them to do their best work. Brainstorm ideas together on how the organization can support the employee to do more of what they are passionate about. Co-creation is key because it recognizes that the employee is an expert in his or her own experience, while the organization is responsible for cultivating an environment that helps the employee activate his or her talents.
Finally, leave room for the employee to share what they think on their personal front. This can range from needing more time for caregiving responsibilities to accommodate a family member’s illness, to the individual being employed by another company and wanting to discuss options to stay.
These career talks are an important opportunity for organizations to get to know their employees as individuals, beyond roles and titles. By understanding what matters to people—both personally and professionally—employers can make efforts to retain workers. Amid recession fears and with the cost of replacing an individual employee ranging from half to twice their annual salary, neglecting retention would be a costly mistake.
For the retention interview to be effective, it must be repeated and treated as part of an employee engagement and retention strategy that takes into account changes in personal and work circumstances. These conversations can help organizations identify ways to improve the employee experience, such as providing training opportunities for an employee who is eager for career growth. When common concerns are raised by multiple individuals, organizations can address the issues systematically (for example, by offering flexible work arrangements to address scheduling concerns).
However, no matter how positive the environment, people can choose to move on. But that doesn’t make investing in them a waste of time. Departing employees who enjoyed their tenure become company ambassadors who share their positive work experiences with their network, singing the praises of your business on LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
When employees feel that their efforts are recognized, that they have the opportunity to do work they enjoy, and that their employer sees them as a person (and not just a worker), they are more likely to appreciate the benefits of staying. Bridging your organization’s retention gap could be just a call away.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice on the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories on tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines on how to contribute to the column here.
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