Retaining Best in Class Talents

The talent wars are for real, placing a premium on proactive measure that you can use to retain your current team members. A major reason why top performers may seek or be recruited to greener pastures is the lack of connection with their existing company. This has become a more difficult challenge during COVID when so many team members are spending all or most of their time working remotely. What’s the answer? Conduct a “stay” interview, advises Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic writing in Fast Company.

Stay interviews should be held with every member of your team to avoid the perception that some team members are more important than others. Stay interviews will help your determine aspects of their jobs that compel members to stay and identify those aspects that may cause them to leave. Suggested questions include:

• What do you like most about working here?
• What do you look forward to as you start your workday?
• What do you like about our culture?
• What would you like to see happen for you to make a long-term career commitment here?
• What would you like to see changed to make your job easier or more rewarding?
• What could I or your manager to make your job easier?
• If you were your supervisor, what would you do to motivate the team more?
• If you were offered a position with another firm, what would it take for you to leave?

 
The effectiveness of a stay interview is directly related to how the team member’s supervisor responds to the answers to the questions. Supervisors need to reinforce what is working and address what is not.

Stay interviews should not be one-time events during tight labor markets. They should be scheduled several times a year to help maintain an open line of communication that promote meaningful discussions among supervisors and their team members.