The song “Stay With Me” just won a bunch of awards at the Grammy’s, and the timing couldn’t be more fitting. Nearly 3 million jobs were created in 2014, the best year since 1999, and the number of unfilled job postings has not been this high in a long time. As the economy continues to improve and hiring accelerates across industries, talented employees have more opportunities than they've had in years. That means organizations can no longer assume their best people will stay simply because they seem happy or engaged. Employees who feel undervalued, overlooked, or disconnected are increasingly willing to explore new opportunities, making retention a strategic priority rather than simply an HR initiative.
In 2009, there were seven job seekers for every open job. Today there are two. Employees have never had a better opportunity to switch employers (Cue the new theme song for employers and managers).
People jump ship for a number of reasons; better pay, more responsibility, a more cooperative culture. But the biggest complaint you are likely to hear in an exit interview is that the departing employees did not feel appreciated for what they were doing.
Plain and simple, the lack of recognition is what gets workers thinking about plan B.
So what can you do about it? My advice: get your managers to hold stay interviews. That right. Why wait until someone has told you they are leaving to figure out what would motivate them to stay with you.
A stay interview will help managers uncover what the employee wants out of their job; practical and emotional returns they may not be getting now. It will help managers identify what’s important to the person sitting across the desk from them. The exercise will help outline goals and objectives that are meaningful for both.
The team at Madison Recognition offers both Maestro and Aria for global organizations interested in employee social recognition.
