In the news... exit reporting

The Human Resource Leader journal this fortnight had an article about outsourced exit reporting and we thought we would add to some of the points raised in the article, given that we have been specialists in this field for the past 10 years. I also felt to write about this topic because the article promotes 'pre-coded online surveys' and I'll tell you later why I don't like them!

The Australian Institute of Management's 2009 Staff Turnover Report showed that 38.9 per cent of organisations pay more then $20,000 to replace each employee. Given these costs, obviously reducing turnover even slightly can have a significant impact on an organisation's bottom line.

But how do organisations know how to reduce turnover? ......... By understanding why employees leave THAT organisation. And that is why Exit Reporting is so important and one of our core interventions for organisations.

Here are our top 3 Exit Reporting tips:

1. Outsource
Why is outsourcing exit reporting so important? Simply, people don't want to burn bridges and so they tend not to be completely honest when exit interviews are completed inhouse. They tend to say things like 'it's nothing the organisation did, I just wanted more money or a change, etc' but the truth is that it is something the organisation did, they just weren't being totally honest. The past 10 years of our research has proven that people tend to be 'pushed out' of organisations, which make them want more money - as compensation for other things like their frustrating manager or lack of skill development or promotion opportunities, etc.


2. Don't have pre coded responses
Many online exit surveys ask questions that have pre-coded responses or that simply ask for 'yes', 'no', 'maybe' radio button answer. The problem is that pre-coding can fail to pick up themes that have not been considered. Often when we are doing an exit report we will find that the responses are different to the last report for the same organisation and as such, would have required different pre-codes. For this reason, we ensure on our reports that all answers are only coded based on the most common responses from THAT survey, not previous ones. Not having pre-coded responses also allows for minor themes to emerge rather than glossing them over and focussing on major themes that fit into prearranged code fields. Even our online exit survey is manually coded to ensure that we find every major and minor theme that the data can offer us and the client.

3. Neutral, open ended questions
Often a client will show us the way they are doing exit reporting and we find that they are asking leading, biased or closing questions. For example 'Did you find this an enjoyable place to work?' is a very leading question (and more common than you would think)! Also, allowing people to answer open-ended questions facilitates them being more honest and giving more detail than they may otherwise would. Our questions are created by Neuro Linguistic Programming language professionals who are able to construct the questions to elicit the most information out of a former employee.

Send me an email to nicola@retentionpartners.com.au if you want to discuss how your organisation is conducting exit interviews.

The Melbourne Retention Forum

Lisa and I held the second 2009 Retention Forum in Melbourne last night, which focused on the opportunities and challenges for HR during the global financial crisis (GFC).

It was a really great night of cocktails, networking and discussion about what makes a highly effective retention organisation in the GFC and it was great to see some of our clients come along to share in the discussion.

For those of you that cant make it, the following are some of the major points that Lisa presented during the evening:

Pick
It is essential to work out which of your employees are high value employees or employees that would cause damage to your organisation if they left.

Poach
Now is a great time to poach staff, with a bigger choice of candidates currently in the market. Lisa also discussed new and alternative recruitment ideas to find candidates that will stay longer and perform better in your organisation.

Protect
It is crucial to give employees reasons to stay, despite budgets being cut and teams being expected to increase work load with less reward. Promotion proxies are a crucial strategy to implement if your organisation has a 'promotion drought'.

We're looking forward to Brisbane this Wednesday night for the 3rd and final Retention Forum for 2009....

The 2009 Retention Forums... begin this week!

There is a buzz in the Retention Partners office this week as we prepare for the 2009 Retention Forums for HR Professionals.......

Each year the Retention Forums focus on current retention challenges and facilitate a discussion, Q&A and networking opportunity for the HR community. In 2009, Lisa Halloran and Cliftons are hosting the cocktail evenings in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in June and July. But what is the relevance of retention in 2009?

Even this time last year many organisations in the public and private sector were experiencing skills shortage issues and major retention challenges as Australian employees changed jobs with ease. And yes, these issues have eased for many organisations as unemployment increases, the global financial crisis continues and employees stay in their jobs, even if they don't want to.

This year Lisa Halloran is talking about something that switched on HR Managers are already doing..... Retaining in the bust and preparing for the next boom. Lisa will offer 7 low-cost-high-impact, must do retention tips for keeping your high value employees and discuss the big opportunity in recruitment in the current market.

We hope you can come and have a caprioska on us! See you there......


Nicola Deall, Head of Research

Parental leave in the budget

The government has announced a national paid parental leave initiative that has prospective parents happy and some employers worried about more paperwork and responsibility. Basically from 1st January 2011, primary care givers earning less than $150,000 a year will be entitled to 18 weeks' paid leave at the minimum wage (currently $543.78), following the birth or adoption of a child. The government is funding the initiative and employers will be given the funds before the employer pays this to the primary carer employee.

But what else can organisations do to make sure their high value staff return to work after the birth of a baby?

Some tips for encouraging your star employees back to work following the birth of a child:

- Have options for childcare close to the place of work
- Have additional payments or bonuses payable when employees return to work
- Have the policy and process in place to promote a family friendly work culture including leaving at a reasonable hour and flexibility to work home when required
- Ensure managers are trained and aware of the need for them to be family friendly

While paid parental leave is a step forward for families, unless organisations can back it up with internal policies and infrastructure to promote the return to work after the 18 weeks, the paid parental leave may not be as supportive as the government is intending and could leave employers with more responsibility, without the benefit of keeping their high value employees.

Nicola Deall, Head of Research