Having meaningful conversations with your employees are a viable way to increase retention rates and employee engagement. These conversations allow the employee’s voice to be heard and reinforces the notion that the university and department cares about employees and gives attention to concerns or problems that arise. It is also an opportunity for discussion around career goals and advancement outside of the formal performance evaluation.
A retention conversation is a structured, informal conversation between a manager or an HR representative, and an employee. Structured because there are certain questions that should be asked. Informal because an informal setting puts both parties at ease and makes the conversation more robust and informative. The purpose is to improve employee engagement and retention.
Consider taking either of these self-paced courses:
- Guide to Retention & Engagement Conversations (UNL HR)
- Stay Interview Basics (CUPA-HR Essentials)
Guide to having retention conversations
- Schedule a one-on-one 20-30 minute conversation with every member of your team annually or as needed outside of the annual evaluation. Select a location that will be comfortable and encourage open dialogue.
- Prepare for the conversation with questions to be asked. Choose questions that will be productive to your conversation and provide actionable feedback. If you need help, you can choose 2-3 questions from the section below. Keep the focus of thee conversation on the aspects of engagement rather than performance.
- Invite the employee to have an informal conversation. Be sure to explain the reason for the conversation. In an effort to be transparent, you can share the questions you plan to ask with the employee ahead of time so that they do not feel caught off guard and have time to think about their responses. This discussion is about their job satisfaction, engagement and retention, because they are a valued employee. Explain the confidentiality of the discussion and that it will be used to move forward with action steps tied to their satisfaction, engagement and retention.
- When holding the conversation, use active listening. Remain solution-oriented and don’t provide excuses when negative feedback happens. Remember, this is not meant to be a performance review or a discussion on corrective action.
- Develop action items addressing areas of retention concerns and opportunity.
Resources and tools for developing action items may include:
- Develop an action plan for employee development (Professional Development Plan).
- Utilize training and development resources available in the e-learning portal.
- Utilize campus Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources.
- Explore job specific certifications.
- Explore growth/stretch opportunities within scope of current employee job description.
- Review position description to determine if a job evaluation/assessment may be appropriate.
- Discuss mentorship opportunities.
Questions to Ask
Job Performance
Work Environment
- What do you need to be effective in your job? What circumstances enable you to do your best work?
- What expectations did you have when you first came to this job that have not yet been met?
Which expectations have been exceeded? - What talents are not properly utilized in your current role?
- What accomplishments on this job have given you the most satisfaction?
Removal of Barriers
- If you had a chance to change one thing about your job, what would it be and why?
- What challenges exist in your job or work area? What restricts productivity and innovation?
- What ideas do you have that might make your work more effective/efficient?
- What changes to your workload would help you? How would you suggest a redistribution of work?
- In what ways would a change in staffing or scheduling affect your job?
- What organizational issues exist that need to be addressed?
- How would a change in work location or hours (scheduling) effect your job performance?
Job Satisfaction
Recognition
- How do you prefer to be recognized (personal note, public recognition, nominal gift, etc.)?
- Name something that you are excited about that you have made progress in the past few months.
- What accomplishments have not received enough recognition?
- What about your job makes you proud of the work you?
Engagement
- How do you feel your work contributes to the purpose, values, goals, and culture of our team/university?
- How would you describe your engagement level on your team?
- Have you been provided with timely and direct feedback about your performance?
- How would you describe your interactions with your coworkers/manager?
Future within the organization
Development & Growth
- What are your long-term career goals?
- Where would you like to be in the organization two years from now? How can I assist you getting there?
- Are there obstacles you are facing with your career development?
- What do you like best about your current role? What would you like more of?
- Are there tasks/duties that are currently not a part of your job that you would like to explore?
- Are there any learning and development opportunities you would like to pursue? (courses, publications, conferences, etc.)
- What committees or collaborations would you be able to make a valuable contribution to?
Retention
- What currently motivates you and keeps you coming in every day?
- What makes you feel most successful in this job?
- What keeps you coming into work every day?
Is this different from the reasons you came to the university? - What makes you think of leaving this job?
- What would it take for you to stay?