According to a report on employee engagement and organizational culture, less than a quarter of employees feel highly valued in their workplace and many report a lack of opportunities for growth.
One way to increase moral and help employees feel appreciated is to conduct stay interviews, or conversations geared toward career development. According to an article by Jennifer V. Miller, stay conversations are one of the most effective ways to give employees a chance to describe their satisfaction (or lack thereof).
Formalizing this type of conversation might seem time-consuming, Miller writes, but in the long run stay conversations are key to retaining and developing employees. To save time getting to the root of the issue, managers should be careful to choose questions that best suit the employee’s current situation.
To get started, managers should consider using the following the conversation starters:
- Aspects of the job the employee enjoys. Begin by addressing the positive aspects of the employee's current role and look for skills that are transferable to other projects or roles.
- Aspects of the job that are challenging for the employee. This can be a difficult topic because some employees are concerned about appearing deficient in their role. Managers can encourage the conversation by reminding employees that every job has its own unique challenges.
- Employee’s career aspirations. This is another area where employees may be hesitant to fully disclose their goals, if they think that stating ambitions beyond your department will adversely affect their current job situation.
- How can leaders help? The most important element of stay interviews is to assure employees that their contributions are valued. Managers must emphasize their support and willingness to aid in the employees' professional development.
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