EXIT INTERVIEWS AND QUARTERLY RETENTION MEETINGS. Leadership Through Fully Engaged Employees Chapter10

Transcription

1 EXIT INTERVIEWS AND QUARTERLY RETENTION MEETINGS Leadership Through Fully Engaged Employees Chapter10

2 Table of Contents LEARNING OBJECTIVES... 2 PURPOSES OF EXIT INTERVIEW MEETINGS... 4 EXIT INTERVIEW ANALYSIS... 5 DETERMINING ACTIONS TO REDUCE FUTURE TURNOVER GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING DEPARTURE IMPACT BLANK FORMS Back of Chapter 1

3 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Through participation in this session, you will be able to: 1. Share questions to ask employees during Exit Interviews. 2. List the most important common reasons why talented employees leave. 3. Identify some of the employees you are most likely to lose in the coming months. 4. Indicate actions you can take to reduce an employee s likelihood of leaving. 2

4 PURPOSES OF EXIT INTERVIEW MEETINGS When you sit down to meet with an employee that is resigning, there are several important goals to remember. These include: 1. Identify the reasons the employee resigned. 2. Identify achievable actions we can take to address the issues to reduce the likelihood of future resignations. 3. Encourage good employees to re-consider. When appropriate, suggest the employee consider going per diem. 4. Encourage the talented employees that are resigning to be open to considering returning to VPH in the future. Let them know how much we value them and that we would be eager to welcome them back when it is appropriate for them. 3

5 EXIT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why are you leaving? 2. If you are going to another job, what does that job offer that your job here does not? 3. What factors contributed to you accepting a job with VPH? Were your expectations met? 4. How would you evaluate your salary in comparison to the work that you performed? 5. What are some of the factors that helped make your employment here enjoyable? 6. What suggestions do you have to make VPH a (even) better place to work? 7. What could management have done which would have helped make you be (even) more successful and satisfied? 8. Would you recommend VPH to a friend as a place to work? If yes, why? If no, why not? 9. (When appropriate) Would moving to a PRN position be helpful to you? 10. (When appropriate) Please keep in touch. I hope in the future you will consider returning. I appreciate the contributions you have made and can make in the future to our team. 4

6 EXIT INTERVIEW ANALYSIS Name: Department/Unit: Job Title: Supervisor s Name: Date: Completed By: After completing an exit interview, it is helpful to make a note of the insights you learned from the employee. Share trends you identify in Quarterly Retention Meetings. Indicate the reasons for resignation, writing 1 next to the primary reason and 2 next to the secondary reasons. 1. Family Reasons 2. Workload 3. Personal/Medical 4. Schedule/Shift 5. Another Job 6. School Related 7. Pay/Benefits 8. Dislike Responsibilities 9. Conflict with Supervisor 10. Relocation Based on employee interview what actions can be done to reduce the chance of this type of resignation in the future? 5

7 From the employee s perspective what are the strengths of our department and VPH? From the employee s perspective what are the areas needing improvement in our department and VPH? Summary of interview and recommendations: 6

8 The New Definition of Loyalty by Talented Employees in Demand Today s talented employees are increasingly focused on their own needs and wants, and are increasingly skillful at determining how well an organization and department meets their professional growth needs. Talented employees analyze the total return from their investment. Pay Benefits TRANSACTIONAL REWARDS Learning and Development Work Environment RELATIONAL REWARDS When the present work environment is right (from the employee s perspective) and the opportunities for professional growth are strong in the current position, they can be the key to retaining talented employees. These things are much more difficult to assess in another organization s job offer. Loyalty (or the lack thereof) from the employer s view: Employees aren t as loyal anymore. Employees are saying that a new definition of loyalty has emerged. Employees today convey dedication to the task and team. Hence, employees today are quite sincere when they say they are loyal to their job. Loyalty no longer means long-term commitment to one employer. Loyalty has become portable; like the skills and talents that employees take from job to job, loyalty is transferable. Employees are committed to achieving success for themselves, and for the organization they are a part of, but they reserve their flexibility to dedicate their talents to the best opportunities available to them. Employees increasingly feel that job security will come from the tools, training, and nurturing environments that help workers develop and move forward. Develop a list of the good employees who have resigned in the last 12 months. o Ask yourself why did they leave? o What could we have done to maintain their talents? 7

9 Why Do Talented Employees Leave? The Top Three Factors affecting an employee s decision to stay or to leave are: 1. Opportunities for professional growth Assignments that provide learning opportunities Performance feedback and coaching Amount of meaningful work the awareness of making a difference 2. Quality of relationship with Supervisor Listening, caring, responsive Supervisor. Effective problem resolution. Recognition that reflects achievement. 3. Ability to balance work and home life Allow your employees to describe the barriers to their productivity and satisfaction. Then work to remove or minimize the barriers. Younger employees and those in occupations of major shortages are increasingly unwilling to adapt their home lives around the demands of their work life. Increasingly these employees see no reason to wait patiently for an employer who doesn t move rapidly to resolve the barriers that prevent a balance between a high quality work experience and home life. 8

10 Becoming a Great Listener A key to retention is listening for the underlining message. Letting employees talk is not the same as listening. We have to work at it, the same way we work at anything else we want to succeed at. Five things to remember to be a successful listener: 1. Put your work away. As soon as an employee comes to you and wants to talk, put whatever you are working on away. Remove temptation to do anything other than give your full attention to the employee. 2. Bite your tongue. One of the first signs that someone isn t listening is when he or she cuts off the talker in mid-sentence or mid-thought. Make sure your employee is finished before you begin speaking. 3. Smile and lean forward. You will be amazed at the effect a simple smile can have. By smiling and leaning forward, you send the message that you are fully engaged in what the person is saying. 4. Asking follow-up questions conveys to the employee that you are truly committed to resolving whatever issue is being discussed. 5. Start your comments by paraphrasing the employee. Paraphrasing tells the employee that you have been listening; it also helps you get the issues clear in your own head before you make recommendations. Too often we have a tendency to rush the listening process and move prematurely into the process of giving advice. We too often fail to take the time to fully understand the other person. As we seek to understand, as we rephrase the content and reflect back to the speaker their feeling, we help the employee work through their thoughts and feelings. Active listening involves getting inside another person s frame of reference. Seeing the world through the way they see the world, understanding their paradigms, understanding how they feel. Since one of the greatest needs of people is to be understood, to be affirmed, validated, and appreciated when we develop this bond with an employee we multiply the desire of the employee to stay with us through thick and thin. 9

11 Conducting Quarterly Departmental Retention Meetings - Identifying Actions to Address Specific Retention Challenges Schedule a retention meeting every three months with your leadership team. Have supervisors and managers bring their Exit Interview Notes/Exit Interview Analysis to the meeting. Have each leader indicate who they lost in the last three months and their reasons for leaving. Seek to identify patterns and trends. Ask each leader to predict who they feel is most likely to leave in the next three (3) months and the actions they are planning to take to help minimize the chances of those resignations. These quarterly meetings give supervisors and managers the opportunity to identify negative trends earlier and implement actions to minimize their damage. By discussing retention successes and failures, leaders gain insights and expertise from each other. 10

12 Determining the Employees You re Most Likely to Lose in the Coming Months Consider: Those with less than one year of service. Employees who recently had a life changing event: o Marriage o Pregnancy o School Graduation o Health Decline of Aging Parents o Spouse Retirement Employees who have increased absences. Those who have expressed frustrations with: o Work Schedule o Workload o Compensation, etc. Employees whose relationship with co-workers or supervisor has experienced some strain or distance. Quarterly review provides a forum for supervisors to share best practices; colleagues discuss successes and failures, and gain insight and experience from one another. Ensures Accountability Let s talk about this quarter s departures and saves. Paula wants more leadership responsibility, but I have no supervisor slots open. I m afraid she s looking externally. Judy gave notice yesterday and I m flabbergasted! I never saw it coming. I m losing my day shift supervisor next month, and would love someone with Paula s experience. 11

13 DETERMINING ACTIONS TO REDUCE FUTURE TURNOVER What are the 3-5 most common reasons for resignations within your work group/department? (Review Exit Interviews Notes/Exit Interview Analysis) Which employees in your work group/department do you feel you are at greatest risk to lose in the next several months because of the above themes? 5 At Risk Categories: Less Than 1 Year Of Service Experienced Major Life Changing Event Recently (Marriage, pregnancy, school graduation, aging parents, spouse retirement etc ) Increased Absences Expressed Work Frustrations Strained Relationship with Management 12

14 Which employees in your work group/department do you feel you are at greatest risk to lose in the next several months because they are in an At Risk category? From the two lists of employees you are at greatest risk to lose, list the 5-6 employees whose leaving would cause the greatest hardship to your work group/department? Which valuable employees are most at risk for turnover? List the actions you plan to take in the next month to help retain your valuable employees that are most at risk for turnover. Examples of Actions to Reduce the Likelihood of Employees Leaving Write employee positive affirmation card, Ask employee to describe the barriers to their productivity, then work to remove the barriers, Assign a co-worker (buddy) to help new employee with 13

15 Assign the employee a project consistent with their career goals and the department s needs. 14

16 GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING DEPARTURE IMPACT Category Special Considerations Performance Evaluation Score Overall rating on last evaluation; fails to meet expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; partially achieves expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; meets expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; exceeds expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; far exceeds expectations. Add/subtract one point if employee performance has changed since most recent evaluation. Replacement Difficulty Average replacement time is 30 days or less. Average replacement time is 31 to 60 days. Average replacement time is 61 to 90 days. Average replacement time is 91 to 180 days. Average replacement time is greater than 180 days. Unique Skills or Knowledge Employee is weak in important skill. Employee has no particularly unique skills or knowledge. Employee has special skills or knowledge (obtained through experience and training) shared by some in the department. Employee possesses unique and valuable program knowledge, relationships, or technical and/or clinical skills. Morale Impact Caused morale problems. Employee is disrespectful frequently tardy or sick. Treats coworkers and patients with respect. Reliable and punctual, willing to give extra under exceptional circumstances. Exceptionally reliable and flexible. Employee sets priorities well, takes initiative, and is focused on advancing department s mission. Informal Leader. Role model Quintessential Team Player 15

17 In Conclusion Our people are at once our most valuable, most costly and most unpredictable volatile of all our resources. Our biggest challenge is to develop, motivate, and retain good people. Never stop recruiting the people you work with. Our most important assets go home at the end of their shift. If not enough of them come back the next day, our organization is in danger. The ability to: Attract Energize, and Retain talented Employees is the Single Most Reliable Predictor of a Department s Future Performance. 16

18 Blank Forms

19 EXIT INTERVIEW ANALYSIS Name: Department/Unit: Job Title: Supervisor s Name: Date: Completed By: After completing an exit interview, it is helpful to make a note of the insights you learned from the employee. Share trends you identify in Quarterly Retention Meetings. Indicate the reasons for resignation, writing 1 next to the primary reason and 2 next to the secondary reasons. 1. Family Reasons 2. Workload 3. Personal/Medical 4. Schedule/Shift 5. Another Job 6. School Related 7. Pay/Benefits 8. Dislike Responsibilities 9. Conflict with Supervisor 10. Relocation Based on employee interview what actions can be done to reduce the chance of this type of resignation in the future? 10-1

20 From the employee s perspective what are the strengths of our department and VPH? From the employee s perspective what are the areas needing improvement in our department and VPH? Summary of interview and recommendations: 10-2

21 DETERMINING ACTIONS TO REDUCE FUTURE TURNOVER What are the 3-5 most common reasons for resignations within your work group/department? (Review Exit Interviews Notes/Exit Interview Analysis) Which employees in your work group/department do you feel you are at greatest risk to lose in the next several months because of the above themes? 5 At Risk Categories: Less Than 1 Year Of Service Experienced Major Life Changing Event Recently (Marriage, pregnancy, school graduation, aging parents, spouse retirement etc ) Increased Absences Expressed Work Frustrations Strained Relationship with Management 10-3

22 Which employees in your work group/department do you feel you are at greatest risk to lose in the next several months because they are in an At Risk category? From the two lists of employees you are at greatest risk to lose, list the 5-6 employees whose leaving would cause the greatest hardship to your work group/department? Which valuable employees are most at risk for turnover? List the actions you plan to take in the next month to help retain your valuable employees that are most at risk for turnover. Examples of Actions to Reduce the Likelihood of Employees Leaving Write employee positive affirmation card, Ask employee to describe the barriers to their productivity, then work to remove the barriers, Assign a co-worker (buddy) to help new employee with 10-4

23 Assign the employee a project consistent with their career goals and the department s needs. 10-5

24 GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING DEPARTURE IMPACT Category Special Considerations Performance Evaluation Score Overall rating on last evaluation; fails to meet expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; partially achieves expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; meets expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; exceeds expectations. Overall rating on last evaluation; far exceeds expectations. Add/subtract one point if employee performance has changed since most recent evaluation. Replacement Difficulty Average replacement time is 30 days or less. Average replacement time is 31 to 60 days. Average replacement time is 61 to 90 days. Average replacement time is 91 to 180 days. Average replacement time is greater than 180 days. Unique Skills or Knowledge Employee is weak in important skill. Employee has no particularly unique skills or knowledge. Employee has special skills or knowledge (obtained through experience and training) shared by some in the department. Employee possesses unique and valuable program knowledge, relationships, or technical and/or clinical skills. Morale Impact Caused morale problems. Employee is disrespectful frequently tardy or sick. Treats coworkers and patients with respect. Reliable and punctual, willing to give extra under exceptional circumstances. Exceptionally reliable and flexible. Employee sets priorities well, takes initiative, and is focused on advancing department s mission. Informal Leader. Role model Quintessential Team Player 10-6