Employee turnover is one of the most pressing challenges businesses face today, and while it’s easy to assume you know why people leave, the real reasons are often more complex.
Reduce Employee Turnover
Exit interviews are a powerful tool for uncovering the truth, but their value goes beyond gathering feedback. They offer a window into the deeper issues within your organization that might be driving people away. They also offer you a path to adjust and improve.
When you dig into the data collected during exit interviews, patterns emerge that can reveal issues within your company culture, management style, or even specific roles. Maybe it’s the lack of growth opportunities or a disconnect between an employee’s expectations and reality that’s driving away good people.
Whatever the cause, understanding the true reasons can help you make changes to retain top talent and reduce employee turnover in the future.
Why Exit Interviews Are Often Overlooked
But why do people often overlook this important step?
- It can be easy to avoid an exit interview when you’re busy with daily operations.
- Business leaders are too focused on finding a replacement to stop and ask why someone is leaving.
- People are quick to assume the departing employee’s issues are unique to them and not related to a larger problem.
- Ego – it’s easy to take a resignation personally.
This kind of thinking can lead to a revolving door of talent and a constant struggle to maintain a stable workforce.
Strengthen Your Team
If you have a retention problem, exit interviews will help you get to the root problem. On the other hand, if you don’t have a retention problem and you don’t want one, it’s time to implement stay interviews.
A stay interview allows managers to learn more about how employee’s view their environment and why people stay. This conversation can help you learn what you’re doing well so you can keep doing more of that or start doing it even better.
All of the questions should be open-ended and aligned to your company’s purpose and values. During this conversation, you’ll also be building a relationship with your team members.
Just like exit interviews, if you take the time to do a stay interview, you need to do something with the information you gather.
Strategically Invest in Your Team
Exit and stay interviews should be seen as a strategic investment rather than a box to check off. When conducted properly, they offer you insights that will address the root causes of employee turnover, improve employee satisfaction, and enhance your company culture.
By consistently conducting and reviewing these conversations, you can transform your business into a place where employees want to stay and grow, rather than one they can’t wait to leave.
To truly reduce employee turnover, you have to understand why people are leaving and what makes the good ones stay. The Core Fit Hiring System can guide you through this process, providing you with templates and questions to navigate the interviews. Taking this seriously will turn your conversations into a tool for growth and retention.
