Exit Interviews and Staying Interviews 

One of my favorite sayings is, “What’s happening inside an organization is felt on the outside by the customer.” You can’t expect to consistently deliver a great customer experience if you aren’t creating a great employee experience. So, let’s examine the employee experience to find out what makes employees happy with their jobs. 

Some companies conduct exit interviews for employees who have chosen to move on. We can learn quite a bit from these interviews, including problems and shortcomings. Sometimes it’s not that our company isn’t a good place to work, but someone has offered an even better place to work. That may be as important, if not more so, than knowing what drives your employees away. 

Yet consider what makes employees stay. Have you ever conducted a staying interview? On the surface, the staying interview would appear to be the opposite of an exit interview, but it’s not. There are reasons employees stay with you, and you need to know what they are. Here are some to consider:  

1. The boss is great. One of the top reasons employees leave is because they can’t stand their boss. 
2. Employees enjoy their coworkers. Like the boss, employees may be on their way out if they don’t like the people they work with. 
3. The culture aligns with the employee’s values – and everyone seems to be in alignment with the culture. This one could be at the top of the list.  
4. The company stands for something (a cause, charity, etc.) that is important to the employee. This is especially important with Gen-Z and Millennials.  
5. Employees get to work on tasks and projects that they enjoy. It’s not that all work needs to be fun, but it should have truly enjoyable and fulfilling moments. 
6. Employees may have unique abilities or talents that the company takes advantage of. People love it when they get to do what they’re good at. 
7. Employees feel challenged. There is a sense of pride when someone meets their goals. 
8. There is an opportunity for growth and advancement. Employees want to know there is a future at the company. 
9. Continual training keeps employees interested and helps build new skills.  
10. Employees are empowered and given responsibility. If you hire good people and train them well, let them do their job! 
11. Employees are proud of their company and its accomplishments.  
12. Employees feel valued. This goes to two areas. First, they feel valued by the people they work with, both the boss and coworkers. And of course, there’s proper compensation and benefits. 

That’s a dozen reasons I came up with in just a few minutes. Think about how many more you could uncover if you sat down with your team and had a focused meeting on this subject. 

Be purposeful about what makes your company a great place to work. You’ll notice more customer engagement, employees will evangelize your brand, and even more importantly, they will stay! 

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.