Don’t let an employee walk out the door without learning why
A recent "Tip of the Week," enewsletter from STAFDA (The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association) stated that 45 million U.S. workers chose to quit their jobs in 2023.
The top three reasons for quitting were:
- Career (17.4%)
- Health & Family (12.3%)
- Work-Life Balance (11.9%)
According to the Work Institute’s 2024 Retention Report, there would still be 3 million available jobs even if every unemployed person found a job. Amid this talent shortage, retaining the employees you have is paramount.
Conducting exit interviews with departing employees can provide distributors with critical insight to improve retention numbers. Here are the top 6 things to do to have valuable exit interviews:
- Engage a neutral party to complete exit interviews: Former employees tend to be more authentic when speaking to a third party, giving you more credible data. If that’s not in your budget, select a neutral interviewer, not the employee’s manager.
- Timing matters: Schedule the exit interview after the last day of employment. The Retention Report found that 40% of the reasons for leaving would change if the exit interview happens on or before the employee’s last day.
- Clearly communicate the offboarding process: As employees offboard, explain the exit interview process, including when they will be contacted to complete it, to improve response rates.
- Have standard open-ended questions + open discussion time: Include the opportunity for an employee to offer open-ended feedback. This can uncover some concerns that may be missed when going through your prepared questions.
- Stay positive and listen: While you might not agree with everything a departing employee shares, remember that the employee is contributing their perspective, which is valuable.
- Plan how you will use exit interview feedback: Distributors should combine exit interview input with their organization’s other employee and retention data to determine ways to improve retention rates.
The reasons employees leave vary greatly between branches and departments, so be sure to analyze your exit interview data with this reality in mind.
Industry Perspectives
“One of the big things that employees wanted was work-life balance, so our leaders took that input and they expanded our vacation policy," said Travis Hibbetts, general manager at Ryerson. "We bumped new employees up from 10 days of vacation to 15 days. That was a big change that came from a survey where we found out just how much work-life balance was important for our employees."
In the Field: Stories & Examples from Distributors
To gain a deeper look at retention, check out the entire 2024 Retention Report from the Work Institute. Discover the state of the workforce, reasons for leaving, and retention opportunities.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
