Why are your employees quitting? You won't know unless you ask them.
Leaders often don’t even know whether or why regretted attrition is higher for employees in different demographic groups . How can you better understand what went wrong and how to do better in the future as people whom you’re trying to retain exit your organization?
When you have regretted attrition, you should do everything you can to get them to tell you why. Categorize the reasons why. When trends emerge, figure out what you can do to address them.
Track these trends over time. Are you succeeding in addressing the key issues? Reassure the people who left that the truth will not burn bridges, and while you’d love to convince them to stay, that is not the purpose of the meeting. You are there to learn about mistakes that you or your organization made so that they aren’t made again.
If you really want to know why that valued employee has quit , get as senior a leader as possible to do the interview. People usually leave managers, not companies. That manager might be the last person who’ll hear the unvarnished truth. But the manager’s boss? Then the employee might be eager to talk.
This is good management hygiene for all regretted attrition, but it’s especially important when it’s people from historically marginalized groups who are quitting.
Investigate why the people you’ve worked hard to recruit and retain don’t want to work for you any longer—whether it’s mistakes you’ve made, mistakes others in your organization have made, or problems endemic to your workplace culture. Quantify it.?
What percentage of people from historically marginalized groups quit because they have experienced harassment or discrimination at your company? How many left because they’ve experienced bias, prejudice, or bullying?
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Ask this explicitly in the exit interview. How does this compare to people from historically advantaged groups who leave the company? The data doesn’t necessarily point to a problem; but it does point to the need to investigate. If the investigation reveals a problem, figure out how to fix it!
Another thing to be aware of is how often bias creeps into decisions about who to fire or lay off or manage out. When this happens, bias becomes discrimination. Analyze the data about who you are firing.
Are you firing a disproportionate number of employees from systemically disadvantaged groups? If so, take the time to ask yourself honestly if bias or prejudice are skewing your decisions. If they are, read this article about how to become conscious of what's unconscious .
Measure the progress you’re making toward creating a more diverse, inclusive organization at every stage of the employee life cycle—from interviewing to firing. Include these measures in all your management processes.
Learn more about how to design your management systems for Radical Respect in chapter 6 — available wherever books are sold!
Radical Respect is a weekly newsletter I am publishing on LinkedIn to highlight?some of the things that get in the way of creating a collaborative, respectful working environment. A healthy organization is not merely an absence of unpleasant symptoms. Creating a just working environment is about eliminating bad behavior and reinforcing collaborative, respectful behavior. Each week I'll offer tips on how to do that so you can create a workplace where everyone feels supported and respected. Learn more in my new book Radical Respect , available wherever books are sold! You can also follow Radical Candor? and the Radical Candor Podcast more tips about building better relationships at work.
Business psychology consultant and executive/leadership coach with extensive leadership and corporate experience. Helping organisations, teams and individuals to thrive.
1 个月I consider the 'how' organisations conduct exit interviews is key. Some have been reduced to an online form. Does the process make that person feel heard and their opinion valued? Who conducts it? ideally an objective person away from immediate reporting lines to create a freer conversation. If they are talented and you might want them to return someday, thought about their exit needs as much care as recruitment.
DVM, M.Sc.Vet.Med, CCFV. Locum Veterinarian
1 个月Do any companies in any industries really do an exit interview? I have never gotten one in my entire career. Sometimes not even a "thank you and goodbye/good luck" ??.
Thank you again Kim Scott! There are many great re-frames and insights here on getting the most out of exit conversations and the potential insights from exit data. Not to mention the minor details of how an exit conversation is executed that make major impact on the individual's willingness to share candid feedback. Too often we think of exit conversations as an afterthought, a to-do, or something to be automated. They are critical feedback conversations.
Kim Scott great advice … and … it’s reactive. A proactive stance would ask “who are the people in our org that we’d deeply regret losing?” Then, “what are we doing to make sure we won’t lose them?” Having done that, “how are we holding managers accountable for not losing people we really can’t afford to lose?” #relevantHR
Improvement Guru. I help organizations become better & make the world better. Lifelong Learner. Always learning about my expertise, my community, my professional partners, & our world. Let’s make our world better.
1 个月The real answer is leaders develop relationships with folks and know why folks do things. And leaders develop folks and often that means folks need/want to leave, and that’s great. Chasing folks when they leave to try to understand why is not fruitful.