Module 3.1C: Employee Retention

Question 1

What is Career Plateaus?

Answer 1

No potential or possibility for career advancement within organization.

Question 2

What is Regrettable Attrition?

Answer 2

The loss of high potential or top performing employees who choose to leave organization voluntarily

Question 3

What are examples of measurable attrition costs?

Answer 3

1. Profit loss/opportunity cost due to vacancy (this is especially impactful for sales positions)
2. Recruiting and hiring new employees.
3. Onboarding and training new employees.
4. Learning and development for new employees.

Question 4

What are examples of soft costs?

Answer 4

1. workflow disruptions and potential missed deadlines.
   loss of expertise.
2. increased workload for remaining employees.
   reduced morale, which in turn may lead to increased turnover.
3. decreased productivity and/or customer service.
4. increased absenteeism in remaining employees due to stress.

Question 5

What are the causes of attrition?

Answer 5

1. Talent Management Challenges
2. Plateaued Careers
3. Glass Ceilings

Question 6

What is Talent Management?

Answer 6

Poor talent management at any stage of employment can increase attrition.

Lack of growth and development opportunities for employees and managers can lead to dissatisfaction.

HR must first gather and validate data on employee exits, with particular focus on 1) higher performing or skilled workers, 2) those positions which are critical to the organization’s success, and/or 3) those positions which are hard to fill.

Using that data, HR can conduct focus groups to better identify and understand root causes and take appropriate action.

Question 7

What is Plateaued Career?

Answer 7

Employee is no longer able to move up within an organization.

Occur due to poor employee performance or lack of advancement opportunities within the organization.

If well-performing employees are leaving for career advancement, it indicates poor career management within the organization.

Question 8

What is Glass Ceiling?

Answer 8

A glass ceiling is an unofficial and discriminatory barrier encountered by women and minorities to advancement within an organization.

Include societal, governmental, and internal structural barriers to senior-level promotion that women and minorities face in their careers.

Question 9

What are Employee Surveys?

Answer 9

Surveys can gauge satisfaction and engagement, which contribute to attrition.

Effective surveys use quantifiable questions but also provide opportunities for elaboration.

Question 10

What are Focus Groups?

Answer 10

Focus groups offer a chance to dig more deeply into key employee concerns.

The information gleaned from a focus group can provide insight into the root causes of regrettable attrition, as well as potential remedies.

Question 11

What are Exit Interviews?

Answer 11

Most organizations routinely conduct exit interviews during off-boarding to help the organization understand why an employee has chosen to leave.

Question 12

What is Stay Interview?

Answer 12

proactive and focuses on why an employee chooses to stay.

Help to identify what employees value and enjoy about their job and the organization.

Allow the opportunity for management to intervene in concerns and potentially prevent instances of regrettable attrition.

Question 13

The commute is killing me

Answer 13

This could mean the employee wants to spend more time with their family. HR can examine the possibilities of alternative work schedules (4/40 work week, flex time) or telecommuting.

Question 14

I got an offer I couldn’t turn down

Answer 14

This employee could feel underappreciated. HR can examine the relationship with the employee’s supervisor. Does the supervisor offer adequate recognition for performance? Are other types of recognition warranted, e.g., “Employee of the Month”?

Question 15

My boss doesn’t listen to me

Answer 15

This employee feels management is not receptive to new ideas. HR can provide active listening training for managers.

Question 16

Leadership doesn’t care about the little people

Answer 16

This feedback indicates leadership is not accessible or visible in a human way. HR should encourage leaders to present a human face to employees, inform employees on the state of the business, and elicit feedback.

Question 17

Kara is responsible for handling exit interviews at a large consulting firm. She notices the number of people leaving the project management center who are too young to retire but also claim to have no other job lined up has increased in the last 2 years.

What is the best way for Kara to find out why people are leaving the project management center and address the root cause?

Answer 17

Hold a focus group with select project management employees with a confidential input agreement

Question 18

Annabel is the HR director a small, growing company. Over the past year, the company has opened a second location and hired 30 new employees. In recent months, Annabel has noticed a marked increase in voluntary attrition, especially among newer employees.

What is the best strategy for Annabel to determine the reason for this increase in attrition?

Answer 18

Hold focus groups at both locations

Question 19

Annual survey results indicate a few employees a large software company with a diverse executive team are concerned that the organization may have a glass ceiling. Management approaches Max, the HR director and asks him for suggestions to address these concerns.

What should Max recommend?

Answer 19

Review internal structures and promotion statistics to determine if the data supports this concern and follow up with the employees to gather more specific feedback