How ‘Stay Interviews’ Can Help Stop the Great Resignation

The Great Resignation has shown no signs of stopping. The most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey found a record-breaking 4.5 million workers quit their jobs last November.

There is no quick fix for improving retention, as needed areas of improvement change from company to company and even from employee to employee. Top reasons employees cite for leaving their jobs include burnout (40 percent), organizational changes at the company (34 percent), lack of flexibility (20 percent), instances of discrimination (20 percent), and their contributions not being valued (20 percent).

As a manager facing staff turnover, this list of reasons can be overwhelming, as it can be difficult to pinpoint where to focus retention efforts. However, a best practice called “stay interviews” is gaining in popularity. Stay interviews have a similar format to exit interviews, and they typically occur between a member of the HR department and an employee. The goal is to gauge the staff member’s opinions about the employee experience.

The main differentiator is that the purpose of the “stay interview” is to understand why employees who are continuing to work with the company stay and what they feel could be better or change in the future—in order to improve the business long before the employees decide to leave.

Why Conduct Stay Interviews?

The first wave of the Great Resignation started in April 2021, when 4 million workers quit their jobs. Since then, many employers have been at a loss trying to understand why their company initiatives are unsuccessful in moving the needle on retention. Stay interviews can help employers understand where meaningful changes are needed.

They obtain a true gauge of employee sentiment.  The only way to truly understand how workers feel about their employee experience is to ask them. Currently, many organizations use companywide surveys to gather this information. Although they are helpful in obtaining an overarching view on staff sentiment, such surveys typically miss the mark on digging more specifically into the “why.”

During candid conversations with employees, HR leaders are able to ask follow-up questions, let employees tell them what they want to discuss, and dig deeper into the employee experience. Amid the Great Resignation, leaders can use the stay interview format to hear firsthand why employees are happy, which benefits programs they are leveraging, and how they feel about their work-life balance. Such conversations provide insights on areas of both success and improvement.

Stay interviews show employees they are valued.  Stay interviews can also be an important tool during the Great Resignation, as they show employees their opinions are valued and heard. In fact, 74 percent of employees report they are more effective at their job when they are listened to.

Aside from gathering important insight from staff, stay interviews give employees an opportunity to reflect on their experience and share opinions they’ve been holding onto but do not feel comfortable expressing to their colleagues or managers. For both employee and employer, a stay interview with HR serves as a safe space to collect information that helps to ensure workers are happy, supported, and engaged at the company.

Stay Interviews Must Be Inclusive and Result in Company Change

Just interviewing a few employees about their work experience will not drive increased retention. The stay interview process should include a range of employees across different departments, backgrounds, roles, and tenure. This gives managers a variety of insights, which creates a more well-rounded view into the company and ensures all departments and levels of employees are heard.

And conducting stay interviews is just one part of the retention puzzle. The success of stay interviews comes down to the actions employers take as a result of the information they gather. Once leaders complete stay interviews, they need to take employee feedback and suggested improvements into consideration to enact change. Data shows that 90 percent of workers are more likely to stay at an employer that puts feedback into action because today’s workforce wants to see that their employer values their opinions.

As the Great Resignation is expected to continue throughout 2022, all employers must evaluate the state of their workforce. Stay interviews can allow them to better understand employee feedback, make employees feel valued, and create the changes needed to improve the employee experience.

Sarah Britton is senior manager of employee operations at Lever.

From: BenefitsPRO