-Written by Andrea Berrington, Recruitment Lead

When we were thrown into the first lockdown, the job market was full of uncertainty, people were losing jobs, and those lucky enough to remain employed remained in their roles for survival. However, as we now turn towards recovery, businesses are feeling the ripple effects from the pandemic, as employees re-evaluate their careers and leave their jobs.   


Benefits of Employee Retention


As the employment pendulum continues to swing in favour of employees, business owners must develop measures to mitigate the impact of a staff exodus on their operations.  One strategy is to focus on employee retention.  Employee retention has a direct impact on business performance and profitability, and a well-thought-out and comprehensive employee retention strategy lowers the high expense of replacing employees.  Some benefits of employee retention are:  

  • Cost reduction 

  • Improved employee morale 

  • Recruitment and training efficiency 

  • Increased productivity 

  • Better customer experience. 

 

Utilising your (high-performing) employees 


A Stay Interview is a strategy that is being utilised increasingly as organisations ramp up attempts to retain employees. This activity is excellent for focusing on what inspires employees to stay with your company, what aspects of their work experience should be improved, and how they envision the next stage of their career within your organisation. 

The stay interview is informal, you are wanting to find out from your employee what they enjoy about work, but also what could be better — including some areas where you as a manager can improve.  It should also be more of a two-way dialogue rather than an interview, some good questions to include in your stay interview are:. 

  • What do you look forward to when you come to work each day? 

  • What do you like most or least about working here? 

  • If you could change something about your job, what would that be? 

  • Do you see a future for yourself at the company?


Acknowledging their feedback


It's pointless to do a stay interview if you don't act on the feedback you receive from your employee. It's your job to review the feedback to see how you can give your employee the tools, resources, or chances they don't have now, such as a clear sense of purpose, stretch assignments, or more flexibility.  The stay interview is a great way to make employees feel like they matter, they are heard and valued and hopefully retain them within your business. 


If you're interested in implementing stay interviews in your organisation give Konnect Koncepts a call.