Here are three ways to keep your most valuable asset — your talent!
1. Exit Interviews. Interview people who have recently left your firm, particularly people you didn’t want to lose. Learn why they left, so you can address the problem. If you discover patterns, it will be particularly important to find solutions. A third-party consultant will be more likely to get accurate information from exit interviews.
2. Stay Interviews. These are even more important than exit interviews, because they’re preventive. Learn what your associates like about your firm, what they like about their work and what their challenges are. It’s critically important that you follow-up on the information you gather from stay interviews, even if you can’t make requested changes. Consider the changes, make them if they’re doable and reasonable. If not, explain. Stay interviews build stronger relationships and you can use the information you gather as you lead your team forward. Stay interviews can be conducted by someone internally or by an external consultant. There are advantages to both. If conducted by an internal leader, they can build stronger relationships, as noted above. If conducted by a third-party consultant, they can uncover information that might not be revealed to an internal leader.
3. Coaching. Invest in coaching to help your associates grow their talent. Coaching will help them get more done in less time, adding more value to your firm. It will help them prioritize their work and focus on what’s most important, again adding more value to their firm. It will help them focus on what they do best and enjoy most, making it more likely they will remain with your firm. Coaching is an investment in your most important asset – your talent.
Exit interviews, stay interviews and coaching are all effective ways to engage and retain talent.