The Meeting Spiral
By Merrick Rosenberg, MBA

Is it just me, or wouldn’t it be better to ask people what you need to do to keep them working for your organization, rather than ask them why they no longer want to work for you? It seems intuitively clear that if managers proactively and regularly identify what makes people unhappy in the workplace, there would be a lot fewer exit interviews to be conducted.

When conducting entrance interviews, it’s important to understand why people stay in their current organization. This knowledge should guide the questions that managers ask their staff. A study by Career Systems International found:

Armed with the knowledge of what motivates people to stay in organizations, managers can ask meaningful questions, such as:

• Do you find your work to be exciting and challenging?
• Do you feel that you are on a path that will allow you to meet your career goals?
• How can I support you better?
• Do you feel like the organization values your contributions?
• Do you feel like you are making a difference here?

Managers can also ask questions that are designed to gauge the individual’s satisfaction with the organization and likelihood to leave. For example:

• If there was one thing that would drive you to leave the organization, what would it be?
• It there is one thing that I could change to make this a better environment for you, what would it be?
• If you were king for a day, what would you change in this company?
• What do you want to see more (and less) of in this organization?

There should be very few surprises about who leaves the organization and why. If managers speak with their people on a regular basis, there won’t be.

Taking action
Leigh Branham in her book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, noted that 80% of employees who had been coached by their managers felt a strong sense of commitment to their organization versus 46% of employees who received no coaching. When managers demonstrate that they care about the personal growth and success of their staff, these individuals are far more likely to stay in the organization.

And yet given all of this evidence, few managers ask questions like the ones listed above on a regular basis. Rather, Human Resources representatives ask them after it’s too late. The Saratoga Institute found that 95% of companies conduct exit interviews. However, only 32% of those companies report data to management and only 30% take follow-up action based upon the findings of the interviews.

No matter where the feedback comes from, entrance interviews, exit interviews, or even employee satisfaction surveys, managers need to stay in touch with their people and take steps to create satisfied employees. Managers who ask the right questions on a regular basis will find they have developed a committed workforce.

Team Builders Plus offers a full-range of services that benefit Individuals, Teams and Organizations. If you would like to learn more about them, please call Jeff Backal at 856.596.4196 ext. 201.