Firstly what is a retention interview? Retention interviews are the opposite of exit interviews.  They are used to speak to your employees before they make the decision to leave so you can try and change things.  And with the Great Resignation upon us and more than three quarters of UK professionals intending to look for a new job in 2022 (CV-Library research) what better time to do them.

 It might be you have a fantastic culture and speak to your staff regularly and know all their ups and downs about their role.  But even if that is the case who doesn’t like someone taking the time to speak to them.  Here is how to conduct a retention interview to get the best possible outcome

 1.      Who should you hold them with?

Don’t cherry pick your best performers – speak to all of your staff.  Even if you don’t want someone to stay it might be you end up having a conversation about them wanting to leave and you can plan and make that happen amicably. 

2.      Who should hold them?

The key to a great outcome is to create an environment where they feel they can be honest.  You need trust.  So with this in mind consider who is most likely to get an honest opinion.  Is it you the leader or manager?  Or is it HR and someone else.  Managers may have the strongest relationship but is there an honesty issue?  If there is consider using HR.

3.      What should you say?

Most importantly your role is to listen.  You need to reassure your employees that there are no wrong answers and you want to hear their honest feedback to help improve the company. 

Remember this is not a 121 meeting and it’s not a performance review.  It’s about their views on the company – not an opportunity for you to give feedback. 

Ask questions like

• Is there any part of your role you would change?

• What do you think the Company does well?

• What do you think the Company needs to improve upon?

• What is your best part about working here?

• What is your worst part about working here?

• Are you happy here?

 4.      When should you do them and how often?

Try and do them when you have the time and when they have the time.  There is nothing worst than another meeting in the diary at the busiest time of the year.  Once you’ve done them once consider how often they need to be held.  This may vary based on your turnover but I would aim to do them at roughly the same time each year. 

5.      Commit to action

If you’re not willing to make changes, don’t hold these meetings.  You’re going to be getting some really valuable data about your business.  You may not agree with it all but you should act on it all and you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.  Acting on it all doesn’t mean making changes but it does mean responding to it.  If someone tells you their salary isn’t high enough, if they are paid competitively against the market and fairly against their peers, that doesn’t mean you need to pay them more.  But it would be useful for you to explain to them why they aren’t getting an increase and look at other methods of reward that they may value. 

Once you’ve held them, then what?

The likelihood is you’ll be able to identify trends to act upon.  And by listening to and acting upon feedback you will increase loyalty and engagement and improve your culture, which will result in less resignations.