Published on 3/07/2007

Employers can improve staff retention by conducting "stay interviews", which are far more valuable than traditional exit interviews, according to a senior recruitment executive.

Chandler Macleod Consulting executive gm David Reynolds said by the time an employer carried out an exit interview, it was already "too late", and annual satisfaction surveys didn't provide timely information.

Companies should be more proactive in monitoring staff satisfaction by undertaking a regular workplace health check and allowing employees to evaluate their performance as an employer, said Reynolds.

"While many businesses conduct exit interviews when staff resign, very few think to conduct a 'stay interview'. The main benefit of a stay interview is that you're able to identify issues and problems at an early stage, before they've reached crisis point and are causing high staff turnover," he said.

The concept of stay interviews was still relatively new to the Australian workplace, Reynolds told Shortlist, but innovative employers, especially in the financial services sector, were beginning to trial the concept.

Reynolds suggested employers conduct stay interviews on a quarterly basis as this allowed managers to keep abreast of issues that could potentially lead to staff turnover, he said.

The interviews should be handled by an independent facilitator such as the HR department or an employee from a different area, rather than the employee's direct manager, he said.

To see David's biography, click on his name.

Exit interviews still relevant

While exit interviews were largely a reactive process, Reynolds maintained they were still relevant.

"Certainly, there is still value in conducting exit interviews and there is room for both types of surveys. The two serve different yet complementary purposes, with stay interviews proactively focusing on the individual and staff retention and exit interviews focusing on the organisation and the issues causing staff turnover," he said.

Key elements

To be effective, stay interviews should:
provide a snap shot of employee satisfaction levels;
identify any issues or potential problems as they occur;
potentially identify employees who are 'at risk' of resigning and address the issues to prevent their departure;
determine whether the organisation is delivering on its promises to employees;
identify any areas that are preventing employees performing to the best of their ability;
provide another mechanism for feedback, which employees value; and
provide valuable insight to help proactively address issues affecting staff morale and retention.

Employers should use simple and direct questions in stay interviews, and they should be conducted among a sample group that represents a cross-section of the company.

Ideally, the participants represent about 20 per cent of total staff from different areas of the business and varying levels of seniority. The interview can include an initial online survey, followed up by a brief face-to-face meeting, which should take no more than 45 minutes per person.

The questions in a stay interview should address the following topics:

the employee's immediate manager;
the employee's team/colleagues;
the employee's ability to deal with customers and deliver the required level of service;
the workplace culture;
resources and technology;
knowledge sharing;
career development;
improvements to the organisation;
the reason the employee was attracted to the job initially, and does it still apply today; and
whether the employee feels the employer's promises are being delivered.

Follow-up crucial to employers' credibility

Reynolds urged employers to ensure they carried out sufficient follow-up after the stay interviews or risk damaging their employer brand.

"If an organisation spends time speaking with employees, but then doesn't take it that next step and action workplace changes, it destroys all credibility," he said.

Employers should identify common issues and trends within the organisation, as well as personal or individual issues affecting employees, he said.