Engaging Talent for Long-Term Results

The retention interview

Author: Dr. Tim Rutledge

In a recent report from Keeping The People, an American consulting firm aimed at helping organizations engage and retain talent, respondents were asked if they thought it would be more difficult to retain employees once the economy recovers. A remarkable 88% answered “yes”. The same report found that employee engagement has declined 3 to 5% since the beginning of the downturn.

One reason for the drop in engagement is simply that employees feel stuck. Over the past couple of years they’ve enjoyed being part of the first seller’s job market (fewer job seekers than jobs) in 40 years. Now they’re experiencing a temporary buyer’s market; more people are looking for work than there are jobs for them to fill. But this is temporary. When the economy recovers, the seller’s job market will return.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, today’s students can expect to have 14 different jobs by the time they reach the age of 38. They’re accustomed to mobility, and they expect it to continue.

What can employers do to keep their key employees when the job market opens up again? One recommendation that doesn’t consume much time or money is the retention interview.

Retention interviews are conducted with an organization’s key employees—its talent. They are informal; no record is kept, except of action items for the manager, and nothing goes into the employee’s file. The manager asks questions that are designed to bring out information relative to the employee’s feelings. (That’s right, feelings. Engagement is a feeling.)

Here are some examples:

Can you tell me how you’re challenged in your job?
How do you feel about the company’s long-term direction?
If you were to leave, what would you miss? What would you not miss?
If you could change any aspect of your job, what would that be?
What do you like best about your job?
How are your contributions recognized?
How would you rate your opportunities for learning and growth?
Describe your dream job.
What would you like me to know about you, your job, and the company?

Managers can work in groups to generate their own questions that they can imagine themselves asking their key employees. I never fail to be impressed at the astonishing quantity and variety of questions.

At a recent workshop that I delivered for S.A. Hunter & Associates, a speech/language pathology firm in Burlington, Ontario, one individual came up with a fabulous interview question: “What do you want to be famous for?”

To begin with, the question is really flattering. Imagine that your manager even believes that you have what it takes to be famous! Secondly, it’s about as wide open a question as there is. An employee can say just about anything by way of a response. And even if the manager and the organization aren’t able to help directly, a skilful handling of the answer can create a bond of trust between the employee and the manager—a bond that’s truly engaging.

I had the pleasure of training Tracy Parzych, CEO of International Time Recorder Co. Inc., a provider of payroll-related services in Toronto, on how to implement retention interviews, and she now uses them. Her firm’s managers conduct retention interviews with their key employees every six months. “We find the questions and discussion extremely valuable both in terms of the performance appraisal and creating future goals, as well as ensuring that we are ‘job sculpting’ and providing employees with proper tools, and an environment they want, etc,” she told me.

What is the link between retention interviews and employee engagement? There are many connections:

The mere act of identifying employees as key boosts their engagement. People want to be recognized for their achievements, and the interview sends them the message that their employer values their contributions, and wants them to continue.
Everybody feels good when their opinions are sought, especially when they’re sought by someone who matters to them. In the workplace, no one matters more to employees than their supervisors.
You’ve probably guessed that the manager’s role in the interview is to ask the questions and then listen to the answers without judging them or arguing about them. Knowing that they’ve truly been listened to is very engaging for employees.
This sort of dialogue is rare in workplaces. But by holding the interviews, managers can learn things about the employee, about the employee’s job, about the organization, and, yes, even about themselves that they never would have otherwise learned.
The information that the employee discloses during the interview can serve as a basis for creating a personal development plan that’s unique to that person. The aim here is to put together a career plan that sends the message to key employees that they can achieve their career aspirations without leaving the organization. If your talent believes that this is true, they will be much less likely to welcome approaches from head hunters. They will be much less likely to believe that the grass is greener elsewhere.

You may be thinking about the impact of retention interviews on employees who aren’t receiving these interviews. (This information will get out, after all.) I suspect that there will be two kinds of reactions: One reaction might be to resent being omitted from the process and speak negatively about it. Another response might be to ask, “What do I have to do to have a retention interview?” Which approach represents the future that you want for you and your company? So I recommend the retention interview to you. It’s a great way to cement the relationship between key employees, you, and the organization.

Dr. Tim Rutledge is President of Mattanie Consulting, a Human Resource Development firm in Toronto, with expertise In employee retention and engagement. He is the author of Getting Engaged: The New Workplace Loyalty, Mattanie Press, 2005, 2009, and of two digital books: Employee Engagement and Powerful Leadership for Supervisors. www.gettothepointbooks.com. You can reach Tim at (416) 802-9985, tim@gettingengaged.ca.

Published in Your Workplace magazine issue 11-6