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Stay Interview
Retention interviews are a very effective tool to keep an employee and avoid leaving, but there are many organizations that still have not taken advantage of this type of interview. According to a survey conducted by Gallup, 52% of employees who left their jobs voluntarily believe that their manager or Decision makers within the company could have taken steps to prevent their departure.
Therefore, employee retention interviews provide an opportunity to identify those steps and implement solutions that will enhance the employee’s stay in the organization for as long as possible.
In this article, we'll review the purpose of employee retention interviews and why it's best to separate them from performance appraisals. Additionally, we'll go over 10 questions commonly asked in this type of interview.
What are employee retention interviews?
It is a structured discussion between the manager and team members individually. Its purpose is to understand the reasons why employees stay with the company and identify actions to increase their effective engagement and retention.
These interviews serve as a proactive way to evaluate what is going well, identify areas for improvement, and enhance transparency in the dialogue between the decision maker and employee.
It's also like building a customer retention strategy, but the difference here is that this strategy will be applied to employees. Just as companies offer loyalty programs and discounts to keep customers happy, they should consider conducting employee retention interviews to understand how to create a positive work environment that motivates them to stay.
Objectives of employee retention interviews
- Promote effective engagement and employee retention.
- Get direct and more reliable information.
- Detect and address individual needs of employees.
As an HR employee or manager, you may be wondering when is the appropriate time to conduct an employee retention interview. Is it appropriate to conduct it when reviewing an employee’s performance or separating them?
In fact, it is preferable not to combine them, and here are a number of logical reasons behind this approach:
Focused attention: Conducting performance reviews and employee retention interviews at separate times allows each process to be given due attention. Because during performance review, the focus is only on job related performance and areas for development. In contrast, an employee retention interview focuses on understanding the employee's level of engagement, satisfaction with their role, work environment, and growth opportunities.
Less bias: A performance review should be objective, based on measurable criteria, while a retention interview can be more open and transparent to explore the employee's feelings and concerns.
Enhance employee comfort: Holding employee retention interviews and performance reviews at different times helps create a more comfortable environment for employees during both processes as performance reviews can be stressful for some employees, so separating them from retention interviews can relieve some of that stress.
10 employee retention interview questions
In this section, we'll look at examples of actual questions asked in employee retention interviews. There are 5 key questions, according to retention interview expert Richard Finnegan, that leaders should ask their employees one-on-one every time. Instead of just working on a list of questions, it is important to examine the answers in order to better understand what lies behind each answer.
To help you do this as effectively as possible, we've divided the questions into 5 main topics to cover, with a main question, why you asked it, and a follow-up question under each topic.
The first topic: conjuring positive mental images | |
Main question | 1. When you leave for work each day, what are the things you look forward to? |
The reason for asking the question | It's a good idea to start your retention interview on a positive note. Asking employees what they look forward to when they wake up in the morning – or during their commute – helps them become more aware of what they like about their job. |
Follow-up question | 2. What do you fear will happen at work every day? |
The second topic: learning and skills development | |
Main question | 3- What are you learning here? |
The reason for asking this question | When we encourage “learning,” it sends a compelling message that we value personal and organizational growth. By answering questions about their skill development, employees are aware of their progress and understand that they are constantly evolving. |
Follow-up question | 4- What talents do you not use in your job? |
The third topic: Researching the real reasons for employees’ stay | |
Main question | 5- Why do you stay here? |
The reason for asking this question | This is a question that employees may not be able to answer quickly. They may give you “superficial” reasons to stay at first, such as “to pay the bills” or “to pay for my vacation.” Being able to really answer this question requires a manager to dig a little deeper. It also requires the employee to be completely honest with themselves about their reasons for staying and this may take some time, so take your time asking and give them enough time to answer. |
Follow-up question | 6-What are the temptations that push you to leave your job? |
Topic 4: Basic retention problems | |
Main question | 7-. When was the last time you thought about leaving our team? What prompted you to do this? |
The reason for asking this question | It's normal for people to think about leaving at some point. Hearing directly from employees about what might have led them to leave is important for two reasons: – You may be able to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. – Giving you the opportunity to persuade employees to approach you directly if they have the idea of leaving in the future. |
Follow-up question | 8. What is the first thing I can do to improve the situation? |
Topic five: Opinions about the manager’s style | |
Main question | 9. What can I do to make the work experience better for you? |
The reason for asking this question | Building trust is essential to a healthy and successful manager-team relationship and employee retention interviews offer a valuable opportunity for managers to build trust with their team members. |
Follow-up question | 10. As a manager, what can I continue to do more and what can I do less? |
Conclusion
Retention interviews are an exceptional tool to enhance employee retention and increase their levels of effective engagement within organizations. It also provides managers with a valuable opportunity to build trust with employees and identify potential causes of attrition.
Despite their tremendous benefits, retention interviews are often overlooked in many organizations so if you are an HR professional, it is crucial to recognize the value of retention interviews and start implementing them.
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