In the wake of the Great Resignation and the new mindsets that have evolved on the part of job seekers, today’s employers must be especially vigilant about the risk of their leading employees walking out the door.
Are you doing all the right things to help drive employee satisfaction so your best players stay on your team?
The Value of Stay and Exit Interviews
Before you can effectively address employee retention, you need to know the reasons why people are leaving your company. Stay and exit interviews are a great start.
- Stay interviews are conversations with high-performing employees to learn what they like abut their roles and what they would like to change. These dialogues are opportunities to both uncover what motivates an employee and to build trust with them. And, they can help shed light on what might make a great team member move on – before it’s too late.
Both stay and exit interviews can yield insight on the reasons employees resign. Among those reasons, you’re likely to hear:
- Inadequate salary and/or benefits
- Limited career advancement
- A need for better work/life balance
- Lack of recognition
- Feeling overworked and/or unsupported
- Boredom, or
- Unhappiness with management.
Invest in Your Managers
Regarding that last bullet point: The old adage remains true: In many cases, people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses.
Managers are pressed today like never before. Between the Great Resignation and its implications, employees demanding flexibility, skyrocketing mental health challenges, and general economic and social uncertainty, they have a lot on their plate as their direct reports turn to them for direction.
Support your managers so they can support others. Ways to give them a strong foundation to succeed include:
- Mentoring: Don’t throw first-time managers off the deep end without teaching them to swim first. A mentor – a more seasoned or senior manager whom they can shadow and turn to for guidance and advice – can be a tremendous asset.
- Peer support: Provide sessions for managers where they can share feedback and ideas with one another. Providing such forums for open discussion helps people develop together and address concerns, mutual and otherwise.
More Tactics for Successful Retention
For employees on every level, consider these additional tactics to help boost job satisfaction, engagement and retention:
- Shore up your onboarding and orientation programs. Position every employee for success right from the start.
- Be sure you’re offering competitive pay. Evaluate and adjust your salary structure regularly. Money isn’t always the primary reason employees stay at their jobs, but it is an important one.
- Offer attractive perks, starting with flexible scheduling and remote work options. Tailor your benefit offerings to individual employees and their needs. For some, it may be paid parental leave; for others, tuition assistance or discounts on gym memberships. Get to know your people, and actively listen as you keep communication channels open – on all aspects of their work and careers.
For additional insight and guidance on hiring and retaining top talent for your team, contact PrideStaff Modesto today.
