Preventing Employee Turnover

It’s almost always a surprise when employees hand in their notice. They keep their plans a secret because they don’t trust their managers. They fear that their lives will be made miserable if they let the manager know that they are not 110% committed to their jobs, the employer and to them personally. They fear they will be sidelined or treated like traitors. It is for good reason that the number one cause of employee dissatisfaction is their relationship with their manager. The truth is that this can be a very personal relationship, not unlike a marriage, and any discussion about possibly severing ties can unleash strong emotions on both sides.

How to Discuss Employee Dissatisfaction

The first step toward discussing such any taboo subject is to create an atmosphere of trust. Managers need to make employees feel safe to say anything without fear of reprisal. They need to make it clear that they want to hear everything their employees have to say about the job and their relationship. They must then reinforce this message by never reacting negatively to unwelcome news. They need to thank employees for being open, explore their concerns supportively and commend them for having the courage to be so open.

Career stocktaking discussions must be held regularly. The first one or two will be stressful. The advantage of regular talks is that the fear of them will decrease over time as both sides learn to manage them calmly and openly. Too long a gap between them will also make the next talk uncomfortable. They should be once a month with new employees for the first year, then once a quarter thereafter.

Managers need to be skilled at encouraging employees to open up. They should begin by asking questions that elicit positive feedback. This makes it easier for both sides to then move on to less positive territory. Here are some positive questions:

“What do you most enjoy about your job?”

“What do you most like about working here?”

“What are the positive things you have learned or gained so far by working here?

“What things are working well for you about the way you are managed?”

Here are some more difficult questions:

The above questions can be rephrased in the negative. But the well known scale question is also useful: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with your job, career, pay, colleagues, this company, how you are being managed?” Naturally, these topics are raised in separate questions. A scale question is much better than “How are you feeling about …?” This is too easy to answer by “OK.” If employees answer a scale question with a low number, say 4, a good follow on question is: “What would it take to move you to 7?” First, however, managers must thank the employee for being so honest.

Another difficult question to ask is: “What would you like me to stop doing, start doing or do more of?” Managers could prepare the ground for this question by making it clear that all employees are unique and like to be managed in ways that are not important to other employees.

Coaching Skills for Managers

Managers need to convey the message that these delicate discussions need to be regarded as coaching sessions, that they are sincerely interested in the employee’s development, job satisfaction and general wellbeing at work. An excellent coaching technique is the magic wand question: “If you could wave a magic wand to change something about your job here, what is the one thing you would change about …?” Fill in the blank with anything to do with their employment relationship.

Coaching requires active listening, paying attention to subtle clues and asking for elaboration. Questions must come across as supportive, not accusatory. For example, a good follow up to a hint dropped by an employee might be: “That’s interesting. Would you mind saying more about that?”

There are things managers cannot change. They can’t grant career moves or more pay easily. But employees thinking about leaving can often be retained by other means. If they feel genuinely valued and appreciated by their manager they will feel a stronger sense of loyalty. By giving them more interesting work and learning opportunities, many employees who might leave will stay around, at least a while longer.

The Secret of Employee Retention

To retain employees it is not enough to be a cheerleader, a nice person or a good role model. Deep communication is the real secret of employee retention. Career satisfaction is critically important to employees and they need someone who will listen supportively to their hopes and concerns. This needs to be the manager, not someone in HR, because the manager-employee relationship is critical to long term employee retention.

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