THE SUPER STRATEGY TO MINIMIZE TURNOVER

This underutilized practice can be a powerful ally in retaining your employees.

One of the most interesting strategies that can effectively help solve the turnover issue may lie in one of the most logical actions possible, but one that is rarely visible to companies. I remember a few years ago when I was invited by a telecommunications company to conduct behavioral development work with their employees in the project area, with the main objective of minimizing the high turnover rate. One of the actions I proposed to seek a concrete solution that effectively brings about changes was to create a well-structured and highly directive process, conducting exit interviews with employees who resigned to hear their stories and systematically analyze if there were similarities and what they might be.

After a few months of adopting this process, we were able to identify and conduct a deep analysis of why there was high turnover in the company, building a map that pointed out the main arguments of former employees. Soon, it was possible to observe that unanimously it was evident as an indicative factor the manager’s behavior regarding their lack of leadership skills; among the highlighted points was the lack of communication skills, as well as the lack of transparency, holistic vision, and strategy, but it was very noticeable that the lack of appreciation for the activities performed by these former employees was prominently present in all interviews. Another highlighted point showed a deeper organizational culture problem: the company had a habit of promoting technocratic managers rather than those with managerial skills. This promotion process was intrinsic as a company standard.

Before continuing, I need to make it clear that it is obvious that the main goal of any company is to retain valuable employees, and high turnover tends to maintain low performance of its employees, and companies with lower turnover clearly have a considerable advantage—especially because they tend to retain the best talent. If a large number of employees leave the company, discovering the reason becomes a fundamental factor for both tangible and intangible costs, as well as the loss of opportunities and profitability directly related to performance and delivery quality.

This is why this exit interview process has proven to be a very useful tool and is incredibly simple, yet very underused by leaders. Many companies I have had the opportunity to work with are not even aware of this technique; others I have witnessed, even though they conduct interviews, do not analyze them. I have also worked with companies that evaluate them but do not share the results with managers who could strategically use this information. In the company I mentioned above, which now adopts this approach as part of its strategy, undoubtedly now has a clear systemic view when analyzing the causes and effects, and leadership has transparency and a leading role. In this case, as part of the behavioral development solution requested by the company, coaching sessions were conducted with management to address points identified in the exit interviews, and the result was much more effective, and today the company has a high level of employees satisfied with the work environment and leadership, and turnover has decreased significantly.

It was through this process that the company learned how valuable its qualified employees are as the major asset driving organizational success. The simple reorganization of information and understanding why an employee decides to leave or stay and what the organization needs to change has become a source of organizational knowledge, creating a constant flow of feedback regarding its own management.

Indeed, I didn’t find grounded research showing that exit interviews help reduce turnover. We know that engaged employees who allow themselves to contribute to the company are usually less inclined to leave, and those who have already made up their minds tend to participate little in this type of strategic tool. In this sense, I’ll share some ideas in this process that I understand to be fundamental for talent management, and the strategic program of exit interviews – it is designed to yield continuous and long-term benefits. Therefore, the intention here is to assist you so that you can execute it properly – whether through direct conversation, questionnaires, surveys, or some combination of these methods, so that the exit interview is fundamentally aimed at expanding leaders’ ability to listen, reveal what works or not within the organization, highlight challenges and hidden opportunities, and stimulate the necessary competitive intelligence. It can also encourage commitment and increase retention by signaling to employees that their opinions are important. Furthermore, it can transform exiting employees into a fundamental source of information for the company to achieve a balance zone in the coming years.

HOW EXIT INTERVIEWS ARE CONDUCTED One of the greatest difficulties in conducting exit interviews can be summarized in two reasons. The first is the quality of data. The usefulness of such an interview depends entirely on the honesty of the departing employee. The fact that employees are less honest when leaving has several reasons. Some feel pressured by time or unmotivated to explore their feelings, perhaps because they may harbor resentments. They may not want to say anything negative about a leader they like or anything about another they dislike. “Do you really believe they will say that the reason for leaving is the lack of empathy with their boss? Probably not, because they often need references.” Another important reason is the lack of consensus on the organizational culture itself. Goals, strategies, and the execution of hiring and maintenance programs vary greatly. Numerous conclusions and recommendations from empirical studies are vague or conflicting. But perhaps, in my opinion, the deeper problem is related to the fact that many companies do not use this type of program as an excuse to avoid facing a reality that will directly and indirectly impact the company’s culture and force them to create an environment where important conversations about retention should be held among all managers. It’s no surprise that many I’ve worked with have told me that exit interviews could represent negative feedback on the company and management.

CLARIFYING SOME COMMON DOUBTS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL

I will mention here some doubts that may arise about how to create a strategic exit interview program, helping to clarify when planning, companies should focus on six goals:

1. What are the difficulties related to HR? Over these years, I have noticed that when exit interviews take place, the objective is very different from what it should be and most of the time, it is focused solely on salaries and benefits. To feel secure, people need some financial compensation to stay in the company. However, unless the compensation is not aligned with that of their peers, money usually isn’t the reason for their departure.

• What should be the main objective? It’s important to understand employees’ perceptions about their own jobs, including the plan and conditions of work, organizational culture, and colleagues. This can help managers increase employees’ motivation, efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness.

• Where should the interview start? It may be crucial to better understand managers’ leadership style and effectiveness. This allows the company to identify its managers’ behavior and pinpoint those causing harm, such as the common issue of micromanagement these days.

• Is it also important to focus on salaries? This moment can also be an opportunity to conduct a real benchmarking of salaries and benefits and thus strategically have information on how the market is, either to check the level of competitiveness compared to other employers: days off, career plans, different benefits, and compensation packages.

• What else can be explored when given the opportunity to listen to an employee leaving the company? Perhaps it’s a great opportunity to promote innovation by asking for ideas to improve the organization. Exit interviews should go beyond the individual’s immediate experience and cover broader areas, such as the company’s strategy, marketing, operations, systems, competition, and the structure of a particular division. A better and emerging practice is to ask each employee something like: “Please complete the sentence: ‘I don’t know why the company doesn’t ____’.” This approach can reveal trends.

• What is essential as a strategy for exit interviews to succeed? Treating departing employees with respect and gratitude is not only the right thing to do, but also to ensure they advocate for the organization wherever they go. This can also encourage them to recommend the former company to potential employees, use and present its products and services, and create business alliances between former and new employers. “Having an employee who leaves as an ambassador and client makes all the difference,” says an executive from a large financial services company.

• What not to do under any circumstances? Most exit interviews are conducted during the employee’s last week at the company, probably when their commitment has long ceased to exist. The process cannot be in the final days; it needs to be strategically planned and allow time to gather quality information.

BEST TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES

The HR team can manage the program day-to-day, but it’s imperative that it’s also led by the manager of this area. They also need to participate in board interviews to oversee the conception, execution, and results. These managers will then gather to discuss the topic with top management. Now that this is clear, we can define goals and specify who does what, and companies can focus on tactics and techniques. Let’s look at the main factors to consider:

• Who should conduct the interview: Know that when the interview is conducted by second or third-line HR employees, there is more chance of generating noise and difficulties in achieving what is really necessary. It’s much more beneficial for the interviews to be conducted by supervisors’ managers, who, out of respect for their seniority, generally tend to receive more honest feedback, precisely because they are also one step away from the employee. Additionally, these managers are in a position to provide immediate and effective follow-up. Their participation signals that the organization cares about the opinion of those leaving. If the company chooses to institute a second post-departure interview, consider hiring an external consultant for the task. An outside person usually has several advantages over an internal one, such as experience with exit interviews and less bias, which increases the chances of producing reliable data. Important: It’s not interesting to have a consultant for the first interview because that would diminish the value of the line manager’s participation.

• Who should be interviewed: In my experience, to build an organizational systemic view, exit interviews should become mandatory for the largest number of employees at all hierarchical levels. This increases the chances of implementing continuous improvement actions. Without neglecting standout and high-potential employees — a sensible attitude considering they are harder to replace. It’s worth noting that this type of employee is generally better informed about the organization and competitors because they are a constant recruitment target. Those who leave can be valuable company ambassadors because they can exert significant influence in the future.

• The right time for the interview: There are two ways to look at this strategically, because we are talking about humans and emotions. Therefore, it may be strategic and productive to conduct the initial exit interview between the announcement of the intention to leave and the actual departure, giving attention to doing it when strong emotions are more calm, but before the employee has mentally disconnected from the company. Exit interviews should not be conducted during the last week, probably when their commitment has long ceased to exist. Another effective possibility is to reach an agreement with the employee for it to be conducted after they leave the company. In general, there is a greater chance that the interview will be more honest and the reason for leaving will be clear, allowing for the development of programs to address the difficulties.

• The best frequency of interviews: Should one, two, or three exit interviews be conducted? Companies can get rich feedback by scheduling various interactions (interviews, surveys, phone calls) before and after the employee’s departure. It may be beneficial to have a conversation while the employee is still present and, again, a few months after they have left as an effective way to get honest answers. This can lead to a much better outcome, pointing to different reasons than those indicated in the initial exit interview. As a suggestion, a second round three to six months after the initial encounter and follow-up.

• The most suitable method: Without a doubt, in-person conversation is the best way to establish rapport, although some consider phone interviews equally effective, I do not. Although many believe that remote contact allows for greater honesty than face-to-face meetings and that the additional cost of in-person meetings is not justified, I completely disagree and do not see it that way. If possible, I believe a face-to-face approach is better, or if not possible, online, but one that allows for seeing the person and vice versa. If the program requires more than one interview, various approaches can help elicit spontaneous responses and test their consistency. I believe that phone conversations and online surveys, in general, are more commonly used as complements to in-person meetings, but at least one personal contact is essential for the employee to understand the respect the company has for them and to become an ambassador for the company.

• Sufficient structure: An unstructured interview can produce unexpected and useful answers, and help unify complex information, especially when the employee turnover rate is high. The strength of standardized interview questions is what facilitates detecting trends. However, they rarely offer surprising insights and can be perceived as superficial, unintentionally signaling that employees’ ideas are not important to the organization. Combining both approaches can more effectively probe areas of frequent dissatisfaction and, at the same time, leave room for unforeseen responses.

• Proper conduct: Interviewers should be properly trained to listen more than speak and avoid demonstrations of authority or emotions. They should be patient and friendly, and occasionally ask open-ended questions, speaking only enough to motivate the interviewee or guide the discussion to an important topic. They should refrain from discussing corrections for problems that arise or trying to justify or dwell on the past. For example, if a former employee says that the company requires a lot of bureaucracy to manage a project, the experienced interviewer may ask them to recommend a solution, but should avoid discussing the possible responses from the company.

Interviewers should also formulate questions positively and avoid embarrassing or delving into the personal lives of interviewees. They can ask if the employee enjoyed what they did (whether it was rewarding, challenging, too easy) and how working conditions could be improved. Sometimes interviewers ask departing employees how their colleagues feel about their own jobs (someone reluctant to offer an honest opinion may feel comfortable attributing their feelings to their colleagues). Regardless of the shared emotions, useful information can be gathered. Most employees have another job in mind when they announce they are leaving. Interviewers should consider asking about the new job, but without making comparisons.

The employee should not feel the need to defend their choice. Important: Do not fall into the trap of standardization. The interview should start from the principle of creating a safe environment for dialogue. Standardized interview questions help detect trends but rarely offer surprising insights, and may sound superficial. It is also important to gather information to compose a true benchmarking. Additionally, it’s worth asking for suggestions to improve the work, the team, the entire company. Finally, interviewees should have the opportunity to talk about any urgent thoughts or issues.

• The obtained information should be properly shared: How can the company unify, share, and act on the data collected in the exit interview?

• First: Confidentiality. They must be treated with great respect and protect the frankness of the interviewees, particularly their opinions about their bosses.

• Second: Data distribution should be managed according to a strategic plan developed with senior managers. The company can request senior line managers to present information about exit interviews from their subunits in detail at a meeting with the board, including specific actions that will be taken or not in response to feedback. When the exit interview process identifies performance or opportunity gaps, the board can provide the necessary resources and request the creation of solutions.

Important: Many ask me if they should share this data with current employees. This is at the discretion of the executives; many argue that the company is not obligated to disclose this information. It’s all a matter of organizational maturity.

By recognizing the uniqueness of each employee, organizations can create an “exit interview menu” that allows the employee to customize this experience by choosing the interviewer, location, method, duration, follow-up type, and so on. This planning allows for the respectful treatment of the departing employee, letting them leave on their own terms. Additionally, it helps to extract better information and increases the chances of the employee acting as an ambassador for the company in the future.

• A Continuous Conversation: For a long time, exit interviews have been considered standalone procedures only for cases of organizational failure. This is a mistake, especially in today’s world of AI and data analytics, where potential impacts are more likely to be amplified. Exit interviews should be the culmination of a series of regular conversations with employees about retention, focused on organizational learning and relationship building. It should not be the first conversation a company has with an employee about their feelings and ideas. It’s important to regularly speak with employees individually about why they chose this company and what could make them consider leaving. Retention conversations can raise professional and personal issues before they lead to high turnover rates. For example, many high-potential employees leave when they feel the company doesn’t offer enough development opportunities. Let’s look at the 12 reasons for resignations based on a study by consulting firm Gartner that indicates the main reasons professionals leave companies:

1. Company-related causes

• Lack of recognition

 • Lack of growth opportunities

 • Lack of leadership support

• Work experience-related causes

• Personal values ​​are not aligned with the company’s

• The work environment is unhealthy

• Lack of autonomy and flexibility

• Market-related causes

 • There are more attractive employer brands

• There are faster development opportunities in other companies

• Market compensation is more attractive

• Personal life-related causes

• Seeking a new lifestyle

• Seeking personal development

• Achieving financial stability

Of course, you can see that within retention efforts, many factors need to be analyzed, but it can’t be denied that many employees resign because of leadership. According to Gartner, employees working remotely or in a hybrid model tend to feel the effects of poor leadership more, as their experience is strongly linked to a small group of people they interact with, including the immediate leader. But this is not the only reason for resignations. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are leaving their jobs due to mental health issues: 20% of professionals say they have resigned to seek a better balance between personal and professional life.

The dissatisfaction is so great that 41% don’t consider seeking an internal job opportunity in the company they work for, preferring to first try a position in the market. All of this can be mapped out through exit interviews, as they tend to strengthen the bond between employees and the organization. Employees who believe the company genuinely cares about their professional well-being are more likely to provide valuable information in exit conversations. “The exit interview reinforces the organization’s values. Making this part of the company’s DNA is extremely beneficial,” says a global consumer products executive.

The real secret is to understand that nowadays the expectation for companies to be more flexible, and thereby support employees more in areas such as mental health and quality of life, is not only a trend but a consolidated reality. Organizations that don’t adapt to the new needs risk losing talent, so it’s crucial to understand each employee’s mindset from the start; the retention process starts at the time of hiring and continues until the employee’s last working day, with the help of solid corporate programs. An effective exit interview process creates the necessary mechanisms for companies to systematically learn about what their most important resource thinks and wants: human capital.

Did you like this article?

THANK YOU FOR READING AND SEEING MARCELLO DE SOUZA IN ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Hello, I’m Marcello de Souza! I started my career in 1997 as a leader and manager in a large company in the IT and Telecommunications market. Since then, I have participated in important projects of structuring, implementation, and optimization of telecommunications networks in Brazil. Restless and passionate about behavioral and social psychology. In 2008, I decided to delve into the universe of the human mind.

Since then, I have become a professional passionate about deciphering the secrets of human behavior and catalyzing positive changes in individuals and organizations. Doctor in Social Psychology, with over 25 years of experience in Cognitive Behavioral and Human Organizational Development. With a wide-ranging career, I highlight my role as:

– Master Senior Coach and Trainer: Guiding my clients in the pursuit of goals and personal and professional development, achieving extraordinary results.

– Chief Happiness Officer (CHO): Fostering an organizational culture of happiness and well-being, boosting productivity and employee engagement.

– Expert in Language and Behavioral Development: Enhancing communication and self-awareness skills, empowering individuals to face challenges with resilience.

– Cognitive Behavioral Therapist: Using cutting-edge cognitive-behavioral therapy to help overcome obstacles and achieve a balanced mind.

– Speaker, Professor, Writer, and Researcher: Sharing valuable knowledge and ideas in events, training, and publications to inspire positive changes.

– Consultant and Mentor: Leveraging my experience in leadership and project management to identify growth opportunities and propose personalized strategies.

My solid academic background includes four postgraduates and a doctorate in Social Psychology, along with international certifications in Management, Leadership, and Cognitive Behavioral Development. My contributions in the field are widely recognized in hundreds of classes, training sessions, conferences, and published articles.

Co-author of the book “The Secret of Coaching” and author of “The Map Is Not the Territory, the Territory Is You” and “The Diet Society” (the first of a trilogy on human behavior in contemporaneity – 05/2024).

Allow me to be your companion on this journey of self-discovery and success. Together, we will unravel a universe of behavioral possibilities and achieve extraordinary results.

By the way, I invite you to join my network. As a lover of behavioral psychology, social psychology, and neuroscience, I have created my YouTube channel to share my passion for cognitive behavioral development with more people.

Please note that all data and content in this article or video are exclusive, written, and reviewed by Marcello de Souza based on proven philosophical concepts and scientific studies to ensure that the best possible content reaches you.

Don’t forget to follow Marcello de Souza on other social media platforms and join the VIP list to receive exclusive articles weekly by email.

✍️ Leave your comment

📢 Share with friends

🧠 The official channel Marcello de Souza_ was created to simplify the understanding of human behavior and complement the information on the blog: www.marcellodesouza.com.br

🧠 Subscribe to the channel: www.youtube.com/@marcellodesouza_oficial

🧠 Marcello de Souza’s latest book: /www.marcellodesouza.com.br/o-mapa-nao-e-o-territorio-o-territorio-e-voce/

🧠 Commercial Contact: comercial@coachingevoce.com.br

🧠 Write to Marcello de Souza: R. Antônio Lapa, 280 – Sexto Andar – Cambuí, Campinas – SP, 13025-240

Social Media

🧠 Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/marcellodesouzaoficial

🧠 Instagram: @marcellodesouza_oficial

🧠 Instagram: @coachingevoce

🧠 Facebook: www.facebook.com/encontraroseumelhor/

🧠 Facebook: /www.facebook.com/coachingevoce.com.br/

🧠 Official website: www.coachingevoce.com.br/ www.marcellodesouza.com

🧠 VIP list to receive exclusive articles weekly of my own authorship: contato@marcellodesouza.com.br

🧠 Portfolio: https://linktr.ee/marcellodesouza

🧠 Presentation and adaptation: Marcello de Souza

#emotions #selfcontrol #selfawareness #emotionalrelationship #selfhelp #motivation #overcoming #personaldevelopment #selfdevelopment #mindset #positivethinking #positiveattitude #success #positivity #leadership #coachingleader #executivecoaching #teammanagement #consciousleadership #resilience #mentalstrength #resilient #overcomingobstacles #winningmentality #balance #professional life #personal life #careercoaching #qualityoflife #PersonalDevelopment #Selfknowledge #EmotionalIntelligence #PersonalGrowth #Mindfulness #WellBeing #BalancedLife #PositivePsychology #Resilience #HumanBehavior #Motivation #SelfEsteem #SocialSkills #Empathy #MentalBalance #MentalHealth #PersonalTransformation #HealthyHabits #SelfImprovement #InnerHappiness #marcellodesouza #coachingevoce