Use independent Exit Interviews.
There is a view and emerging evidence that many staff will be on the move once the pandemic is settled. The disruption to normal practices in the years 2019-2021 paused the frenetic lifestyle and activity that many were caught up in, acting as a circuit breaker, it gave people the opportunity to reassess their priorities.
Not all their reasons for moving are due to dissatisfaction with their current employer or employment arrangements but many, if not most are.
Causes will include:
1. Pent up demand due to Covid impediments to moving,
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- Naturally reaching their use-by date
- Needing to move on for career opportunities,
- Looking for new challenges
- Dissatisfied with current working conditions
- Unhappy with employer attitudes to post pandemic conditions.
- Personal life changes.
- Fantasies that other places are better.
- Change of priorities creating the need for new career focus.
- Family moves interstate or overseas.
- Parental and relationship changes
2. Organisations are more stressful places to be and likely to be understaffed. Staff are becoming intolerant of these circumstances.
3. Employers are expecting, assuming and exploiting the 24 hour availability of staff when working remotely.
4. Employer intransigence in adapting to the new paradigm.
5. WFH experience has demonstrated there is another way to work conditions and requirements.
6. Expanding opportunities as the economy reopens and not as restricted as in the past by Geography.
7. New issues evolving from the experience of the two pandemic years.
Each employer needs to know how they are perceived in the current climate, they need to know and understand emerging negative and positive features of their workplace to be able to attract and retain suitable staff.
How do you find out the truth?
Ask those leaving, not those staying. They will tell the truth, both good and bad.
Internal surveys are compromised by lack of security and confidentiality and a complete lack of faith in the organisation or immediate supervisor using the information ethically and appropriately. They are also time consuming, riddled with cynicism and due to past experiences, completely lack credibility with staff.
Departing folk tell the truth.
In our experience in conducting these surveys over the last 20 years or so, this process has uncovered;
- Cabals of “Oldtimers” harassing and excluding new comers.
- Change blockers
- Sexual predation; all gender combinations.
- Bullies and coercive practices.
- Hetero-sexual intimidation and exclusion of Homosexuals.
- Incompetent and indecisive senior executives.
- Gender and race based discrimination on task allocation and progression.
- Staff impacting negatively on clients and suppliers.
- Unpopular and ineffective procedures.
- Counterproductive and inefficient processes.
- Corruption
- Unfair practices.
- Illegal behaviour and practices.
- AND, there are probably new issues emerging from all the recent Covid triggered changes that have occurred.
We have also uncovered;
- Unsung heroes.
- Managers who are greatly respected and get things done.
- Individuals who enhance the organisation’s capabilities and performance.
- Innovators
- Commercial opportunities.
The most effective way to canvass departing staff is:
- An independent survey team and instrument, can be online or face-to-face interviews. An external enquirer elicits a greater level of trust and, if required (should be optional), anonymity for the respondent’s comments.
- A qualitative and quantitative questionnaire including open questions.
- Apart from specific incidents that require immediate attention, look for trends and patterns from at least 8-10 interviews.
- Independent researcher presents formal reports, unedited by management.
- Conduct the surveys over at least a 12 month period with quarterly reviews.
Benefits
- Senior management cannot re-interpret or alter the magnitude or nature of responses.
- Immediate, whistle blower type issues are exposed.
- Quantitative trends will provide insight into key issues and their origins.
- Quantitative trends, over time, help understand how changes are being embedded and what alterations are required.
- Confidentiality and anonymity are better respected.
- Qualitative explanations and descriptions assist the interpretation of the scores for the various components.
- If responses are taken seriously by management,
- Commitment will be enhanced.
- Staff turnover reduced.
- Recruitment, training and development costs will be reduced and stabilised.
- The organisation will be more efficient and effective.
- Profit margins will increase.
If you listen and act accordingly, you will have a more effective and efficient organisation. Over to you.
The information provided in this article is of a general nature only and not intended to be advice.