(Time to read this Blog is about 4 minutes)
Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:
- My Biz Quote of the week:
“Many people say, ‘I’d be happy if I had a glamorous job.’ A glamorous job is when you love what you do, who you do it with and who you do it for. Other than that, glamour is an illusion.”
…Donald Cooper.
- Quick Biz Tip:
Don’t confuse low staff turnover for high-engagement or high-performance:
Low staff turnover does not necessarily mean that your employees are ‘engaged’ and productive. It may mean that you’re not measuring engagement or performance…and not dealing with non-performance.
- Fun Fact. Elegant Toronto Chinese restaurant, Lai Wah Heen, is offering a special 5-course dinner featuring a specially prepared stuffed goose, for $8,888. You can add a bottle of 1989 Château Margaux wine for an additional $3,888. Plus tax and tip, of course!
But, here’s the business question for you. What elevated product, service or customer experience could you create that will appeal to high-end customers, increase revenue and generate a ton of media publicity?
- Understanding the ‘label game’. Label requirements in Canada are complicated, and many companies take advantage of that to ‘wrap’ their products in the Canadian flag.
The “Product of Canada” label requires that all labour and processing, and at least 98% of a product’s ingredients, are Canadian. The “Made in Canada” label has only a 51% minimum requirement. And the “Prepared in Canada” label could mean, for example, that a jug of U.S. orange juice was simply bottled in Canada.
- AI Update. AI-driven ‘textile sorting’ uses computer vision, near-infrared sensors and machine learning to automatically identify garment composition, condition, and reusability at high speeds. This technology replaces slow manual sorting, helping the fashion industry scale up closed-loop textile recycling and redirect usable clothes to resale markets.
Now, to this week’s important topic…
‘Exit Interviews’ are important! Why aren’t you doing them?
There’s lots of talk about the importance of effective ‘on-boarding’ for new Team members…but very little talk about the importance of ‘off-boarding’ (Exit Interviews). What insights could you learn in effective Exit Interviews about how your employees really feel and how you can prevent additional departures of strong performers?
The best Exit Interview questions focus on discovering the root causes of turnover and identifying actionable ways to improve workplace culture and communication, working conditions, pay and benefits, management and supervisory effectiveness.
To get you started, below are questions you can use to have effective Exit Interviews. Always ask follow-up questions when appropriate and add your own questions to the List, as they come to mind:
Discover Their Core Reasons for Leaving:
- ‘What prompted you to search for another opportunity, or to accept another opportunity when approached by another company?’ Find out if their departure stems from workplace friction, compensation, or lack of growth.
- ‘What does your new job offer that made you decide to leave?’ Uncover specific gaps in your employment experience and career opportunities.
- ‘What benefits, workplace flexibility or other programs do you feel we are lacking in our employee package?’
- ‘What, if anything, almost made you stay?’
- ‘Is there anything we could have done to prevent you from leaving?’
Management and Support:
- ‘When you started, did your initial onboarding and introduction to the company, your team and the job, get you off to a great start? How could that process be improved?’
- ‘Did you receive frequent, constructive feedback from your manager or supervisor?’
- ‘Did you have the training, tools and resources needed to perform your job effectively?’
- ‘Were you treated fairly and respectfully?’ Discover what management incompetence or toxicity, or cultural problems may be driving good people away.
- ‘Were you recognized and rewarded enough for your accomplishments? How could we do that better?’
- ‘Were job or career progression possibilities discussed with you at least twice a year? Did you feel comfortable discussing career or role opportunities with your manager or supervisor? If not, why not?’
- ‘What did we not communicate well enough that you would have liked to know more about?’
Culture and Role Expectations:
- ‘Did the job meet the expectations you had when you joined?’ Spot discrepancies between Job Descriptions and daily reality.
- ‘Do you think your responsibilities and performance expectations were made clear? Did you know what was expected of you?’
- ‘What did you like about your work? Was it rewarding, challenging, too easy and boring? If it was boring, how could we have made it more boring?’
- ‘What did you like about our culture? What did you not like?’
- ‘How would you describe our company culture to a friend?’ Gauge general morale and team dynamics.
- ‘What suggestions do you have for the company, or for your successor?’ Collect constructive advice for organizational improvement.
Forward-facing questions:
- ‘From your experience working with us, what are the biggest risks and challenges facing our company?’
- ‘What advice would you like to give to your manager or supervisor, and your team?’
- ‘In your experience, what would make this a better place to work?’
- ‘Would you ever consider working here again? What would have to change to make that an attractive possibility for you?’
- Would you recommend others apply for a position here?
Here’s a radical thought. You’re asking departing employees to give you their honest feedback about the business and their reason’s for leaving. This is completely voluntary on their part, so how about offering them a $200 cash (or more, depending on their position in the company) bonus for doing so. Trust me, you’ll be getting much more than $200 worth of insight, so why not?
So, when do you commit to start doing effective, insightful Exit Interviews in your business?
That’s it for this week…
Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!
Donald Cooper
