This summer a newspaper article caught my attention regarding employee retention and it surprised me in a couple ways that may not surprise my experienced readers.  The article was written by the co-authors of a book titled Job Moves: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career and it, in part, tackles this retention issue by suggesting meaningful engagement with present employees may keep some of them on the payroll longer.

The article asserted that there is a combination of 30 forces that push employees away from their present job and pull them toward a new job and here was the surprise for me-people do not typically know what is driving them to switch jobs.  If departing employees do not understand all the factors that drive them away from their present job to a new job, how do employers create effective strategies to retain employees.  The article suggests four questions to ask employees to help them gain insight on their satisfaction with their current employer and help employers identify effective strategies to retain them.

Question 1

When was the last time you almost quit?

The authors suggested including this question as part of a performance review or other sit down with employees.  The question is less about a specific incident and more about getting employees to think concretely about the underlying forces that may be pushing or pulling employees away from their jobs.  Some employees may be hesitant to answer this question from their manager, because it may be the manager that is the cause for them thinking about quitting.  If that is the case or you suspect it might be, the manager can ask the employee “What can I do to make you more effective as an employee?

If an employee shares a way that their boss can improve, that boss must resist the temptation to take the suggestion personally and instead make a good faith attempt to address the issue.

Question 2

When was the most recent time that work did not feel like work?

Over the weekend, my wife and I had dinner with friends and unlike us, our friends tell us that they hate their jobs.  With this article in mind, I asked them about parts of their jobs that they enjoy.  After a pregnant pause, they were both surprised by their own answers.  The answer from both was yes.  Our friends are in the home (husband) and commercial construction (wife) spaces and they both do not like dealing with entitled customers and bosses that are focused on promoting people they like over people that earned a promotion.  On the other hand, they both expressed how much they enjoyed mentoring less experienced subordinates and problem solving unique situations in their respective positions. From there we discussed things that they could change and things they cannot change so that they hate their jobs less.

At dinner with friends I do not turn the conversation into a workplace improvement lecture but our friends employers could have served their organizations well by engaging these productive employees in a proactive way.  Because those employers do not engage their workers, our friends are looking at other employers that may appreciate their skills and work ethic in a good way.

Question 3

What trade-offs are you making to stay in this role?

There are no perfect jobs but instead jobs that are a mix of work that energizes the worker along with a good dose of tedious tasks. Along with that mix, employers combine workplace practices that increase and decrease employee retention.  For example, some employees need more workplace flexibility because they are helping aging parents or shuffling young people to and from school.  Employee needs can shift with time and circumstance.  

I am seeing some employers become more rigid in a one size fits all approach to employees in service of consistency and that may, or may not, impact retention.  On the other hand, some employers are embracing some of the COVID generated flexibility by meeting employee where they are and bringing creative solutions to these retention challenges.  I suspect that those more flexible employers will retain more talent.

Question 4

If this job disappeared tomorrow, what would you choose next?

This question creates some anxiety with the realization that most jobs are not forever (the robots are outside your office door) but the question can assist in identifying an employee’s aspirations.  The assumption is that employees seek to climb their present chain of command but the authors found that 75% of workers they surveyed instead wanted to move horizontally, switch departments, change industries or exert control over the way work was performed.  A conversation generated by this question gives employees and employers an opportunity to explore some of those possibilities.

Do not wait until the exit interview to have a meaningful conversation with a talented employee that could have served your tribe in a good way.  Engage those employees with questions that may lead to a better fit inside the job they presently have or another job in your organization.

NNAHRA

I look forward to seeing some of you at NNAHRA’s annual conference later this month.  If you have not looked at what NNAHRA has to offer lately, please go to its website and see how NNAHRA can serve you.

Richard McGee

richard@richardmcgeelaw.com

612-812-9673