Are We On The Verge Of A Turnover Tsunami?

2020 was about doing what we had to do to survive. 2021 is about doing what we want to do. 

Now that the economy (and job market) is roaring back to life we are beginning to experience an employee turnover tsunami. 

In fact, according to a recent Microsoft report, 41% of the global workforce is open to seeking new employment this year. 

So how do you make sure you are not drowned in the tsunami? 

One way is to determine why your staff are leaving the moment your employee turnover begins to tick up.

This brings us to the exit interview. 

Here are a few tips to help you conduct a thorough exit interview that will help you gather open, honest feedback (or at least as honest as your employee is willing to be) which you can action.

1. The most effective exit interviews are conducted by the manager once removed (i.e. the manager of the employee’s manager) or a third party consultant. Exit interviews completed by HR or the employee’s direct manager will often inhibit the employee from being completely honest.
2. The most common reasons for leaving include a pay increase or the amorphous “better opportunity”. Do not take these at face value. Research shows that while employees do often experience pay increases from changing roles, they typically don’t go looking based on pay alone. And you need to dig down to find out what that “better opportunity” entails (more on this below).
3. Consider conducting exit interviews 1 - 2 weeks after the employee has left. The upside is that they typically feel more free to talk openly without fear of repercussions. The downside is that you can no longer rely on them to participate once they leave your employment.
4. Consider combining a written exit interview via a short survey with a verbal exit interview at a later date and comparing the two.
5. Research shows that employees most often leave jobs for the following reasons - so really dig for these during your exit interview:

• Lack of trust or respect for their manager
• Micromanagement on the part of their manager
• Lack of flexibility in where and when they do their job. This has increased exponentially with the introduction of remote or hybrid working as a result of Covid.
• Commute time
• They do not find their role challenging or stimulating
• Their workload has become unmanageable
• They do not feel appreciated or valued
• They do not see career advancement or the opportunity to learn new skills
• Bullying/harassment
• They are not inspired by what the company does
• The company’s values do not align with their own or they have observed behavior that is incongruent with the company’s stated values

Using these tips to conduct exit interviews will help you diagnose problems and might keep you from losing more good people.

But an even more effective strategy to surf the tsunami is to conduct Stay Interviews. Identify problem areas - and fix them - before your staff begins to speak with their feet.

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Master storyteller, passionate educator and trend translator, Kim Seeling Smith helps business leaders move from disruptable to indestructible in the post-pandemic world. 

Kim is THE Now of Work expert (because the Future of Work arrived on Friday the 13th of March 2020 with Covid-19). She has literally had a seat at the table with Sir Richard Branson, launched her book, Mind Reading for Managers at SXSW, co-wrote a book with mega author Brian Tracy, was named one of the Top 101 Global Influencers on Employee Engagement and was one of the few non-technical presenters to be included in the 2020 Atlassian Summit as Covid forced it to move from live to online.

A recovering, KPMG trained CPA, Kim has run an internationally recognized consulting firm since 2009. Prior to that she managed globally ranked recruitment teams and has personally conducted over 5,000 exit interviews.

You will frequently see Kim on The Today Show, in Forbes, CNBC Online, the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and many other print and radio media outlets. 

We help future-focused organizations hire the right people - and keep them once you have them.

Our signature programs include:

1. Our Future/Now of Work Gap Analysis: The Future of Work is Now. Are you fully prepared?
2. The SPOT On? Hiring System: A step by step framework, training and customizable forms and other assets o help you plan, prepare and conduct an effective and efficient hiring process. 
3. Mind Reading for Managers: Know yourself, know your team, kick your goals. THE how-to guide for1:1 conversations between manager and direct reports. Based on over 5,000 exit interviews.