Companies spend a lot of money and effort recruiting top talent to come and work for their organizations.
When they finally win over a candidate, many fail to continue that dialogue of selling the company to them as employees. Leaders and senior executives often fall into the belief that since they’ve beaten out the competition, they can sit back, kick their feet up and relax. In these busy times, that’s often a very risky move.
Once the candidate has been hired, that’s when the real work begins to make the person feel like a valued part of the team. Companies have to continue working to retain key players because in this recovering market, they are getting calls from competition.
One way to do this is by conducting stay interviews, candid conversations weekly, bimonthly or monthly that discuss what keeps the employee happy or what makes them dislike coming into the office.
Here are four benefits of conducting stay interviews:
Reveal motivators
The biggest mistake management makes is assuming the same thing motivates all employees, and this is especially problematic with mixed teams. Receiving flexible hours may motivate someone on a team, whereas another team member wants a pay raise. This is important to consider when assigning team goals because when managers blanket the incentives, they risk staff not producing at their highest capability.
Prevent turnover
Top performers are sought out in today’s jobs market, and if they don’t have a commitment to the company or don’t feel any sense of loyalty, they will leave for better opportunities, higher pay or flexible hours. Some companies simply can’t compete against those perks because of the nature of their businesses; however, stay interviews are something any size company in any industry can do to build loyalty fast. There are no costs associated with stay interviews, and they in-turn help prevent costly turnovers.
Spot red flags
Costly turnover can be prevented when red flags are spotted early, and that’s what stay interviews are for. These candid conversations allow issues to surface sooner, allowing managers to adjust or rectify the situation before the employee leaves. Stay interviews create a platform for transparent communication and employees understand that they can be completely candid and not penalized for what they say.
Gain trust
Acting like a performance review on the company, stay interviews show that the company is open and willing to hear candid feedback on how it can improve. Trust is built when these conversations take place between employees and managers because it shows management is willing to listen and deliver a solution for the weaknesses that are valid. ●
Sirmara Campbell Twohill is the Chief Human Resources Officer at LaSalle Network.
