Stay Interviews- They are here to stay

All of us know about exit interviews .Probably the most candid expressions, suggestions and complaints about any organization come up in these exit interviews. For the exiting employees it is easy- to blurt out anything and everything they wished to say in this forum. And probably the real reason why they are leaving is right there in the exit interview answers. But isn’t it a little late to understand an employee’s woes when the moment comes for him to leave?

How many companies actually think about conducting proper stay interviews in a regular span of time? Very few as companies generally consider that the ones who stay are those who like to continue. In case any organization wishes to conduct these regular interviews, what should be the focus on? One, what should the employee do in order to stay and second, what the company has to do to make them stay.

For the first kind, there is a need to build trust among the employees. There should be a candid environment and the manager must be able to critically evaluate and explain what the subordinate needs to do in order to stay in the company. This should also be delineated from the performance reviews and appraisals .For the second, there is the need for immediate managers and senior level managers who are open to criticism and suggestions. The organization culture should also enable change.

So what is the cost and who bears it? – When the right employees stay , isn’t the company reducing the replacement cost? Though it may take a bit of time to research and study, tracking the attrition levels and associated training cost for the new employees can help arrive at a quantitative data.