Exit Interviews and Stay Interviews – Why You Need Both for Millennial Retention

Get a comprehensive view of your company by evaluating it from different perspectives.

As employers of multi-generation workforces can attest, managing millennial employees in the same way as boomers or those of Generation X can be a recipe for high churn rates.

At a time when labor shortages are convincing skilled professionals to seek greener pastures, companies need to employ new methods to monitor and improve their retention rates – and sooner rather than later.

For an immersive view of your organization, consider a combination of revealing exit interviews and probing, departmental stay interviews to reach the insights you need to combat retention problems.

Surprising Motivations

Case in point: A 2016 Gallup poll concluded that millennials aren’t motivated by their paycheck, they don’t stay at their job because of job satisfaction, and they aren’t as concerned with their weaknesses or annual reviews as prior generations. And unlike the members of Generation Y who have already begun to join the workforce, millennials aren’t primarily focused on their jobs.

What millennials do care about, the survey found, is having a purpose and making an impact. Millennials want a position centered on continual professional development, they want to be able to focus on their strengths, and they want to engage in continual personal progress. Additionally, survey after survey also reveals that millennial employees often say their primary non-negotiable is a candid, meaningful relationship with their employer in which they are heard.

Stay interviews give you an insider’s view on a particular segment, division or team within your company. These conversations are a great way for employers to better anticipate their employees’ needs, such as professional growth opportunities, culture changes or a management structure that needs to be put into place to retain excelling millennial employees. After a stay interview is conducted, an employer now has actionable feedback and is trusted by their employees to make real changes that improve retention in problem areas before the company experiences more turnover in those regions.

The candor and transparency yielded from exit interviews is also crucial information for employers to improve retention and analyze turnover trends. While stay interviews are important to find out what employees want in a specific segment, exit interviews help paint a bigger and often clearer picture, as well as helping employers dig deep into management and culture trends.

Your company — as told by your employees.

HSD Metrics’ can help you determine, analyze, and track trending turnover rates and issues within your company. Our outsourcing technology captures and immediately reports client data. Find out how you can start streamlining your HR processes and get to the bottom of your retention problems today by calling 877-439-9315 or contacting us online.