1. Employee Retention: Opportunities
and Challenges with Onboarding,
Retention, and Exit Surveys
:: Introduction
Modern workers no longer seek
employment with intentions of a life-long
career in the same capacity, or even the
same company, as their predecessors did.
The 20-year mark as the capstone of a
career is considered by experts to be a
thing of the past. (Kamenetz, 2012)
The Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS)
obtains, compiles, and
analyzes data bi-annually
on employee tenure
through surveys of
workers age 16 and older
on a monthly basis.
According to the most
recent data, the average
worker stays in the same
job for about 4.4 years
(see Figure 1); however,
public sector employees
have approximately twice
the overall average tenure
(approximately 8 years),
BLS explained the
increase tenure of public
sector employees is
partially due to a higher
median age of
government workers.
Three quarters of government
respondents were age 35 and over. The
tenure for younger generations in any given
industry is generally an average of 3 years.
Twenty-one percent of all workers have
been with their current employers for a year
or less. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012)
These trends are expected to continue and
have caused employee retention to remain
a topic of interest among businesses across
all industries and nations.
:: Employee Turnover and Retention
Some employee turnover should be
expected and can be a positive change.
Turnover allows opportunities for new ideas,
innovation, and organizational growth.
As Management Today reported, "At
least one multinational [company]
distinguishes between what it rather
elegantly calls 'regretted' and 'non-regretted'
types of staff turnover. Bosses in that
company worry if regretted turnover is too
high.”
Training and institutional knowledge not
only increase capacity and success within
the position, they increase an employee’s
marketability to competitors. The most
effective employees are the most undesired
losses within an organization. These
employees tend also to be among the first
to look for greener pastures and leave a
greater gap for the employer to fill. (Inc.)
Figure 1: Fast Company

2. Customer and client relations can also
be affected by turnover and the lasting
effect can be felt throughout an entire
organization. Morale may decline in
conditions where turnover is high and
workloads shuffle continuously. (Hays,
2012)
Accenture conducted research
worldwide this year finding nearly half of
business professionals were dissatisfied
with their current jobs. Compared to
Accenture’s 2012 research, dissatisfaction
has declined by approximately 10%; and not
all professionals are job hunting, despite
expressing dissatisfaction. Nearly three-
quarters of professionals plan to stay with
their companies and strive to create new
opportunities for themselves. Instead of
looking elsewhere, these employees are
focused on developing skillsets and seeking
training, resources and people to help them
achieve their goals. (Accenture, 2013)
It is important for industries to get a
finger on the pulse of their employees.
Discovering employees’ goals and how they
relate to their current position or the overall
direction of the company improves chances
of retention and opportunities to move talent
into areas that support company and
employee growth.
The American Psychological
Association conducted a study to determine
top reasons workers stay with their current
companies. For employees who said they
plan to stay with their current employers for
more than two years, the biggest drivers of
expected tenure were enjoying the work,
having a position that fits well with other life
demands, and feeling connected to the
organization. Fewer employees listed other
reasons for staying in their positions such
as benefits, pay, or lack of other job
opportunities. (American Psychological
Association, 2012)
Retention surveys and exit interviews
are becoming more prevalent in business
today. The purpose of these surveys is to
gather crucial data used to improve the
work environment, boost employee
engagement, and retain star performers.
How should an organization gauge the
impact of turnover? What can be done to
minimize negative aspects and retain top
talent? The simplest answer to these
questions is to conduct a needs
assessment: Build a process to acquire an
accurate, thorough picture of a system’s
strengths and weaknesses to improve and
meet current and future challenges.
Onboarding surveys, retention or stay
surveys, and exit interviews are common
need assessment methods.
:: Onboarding Surveys
Replacing employees is costly at any
time, but can be particularly expensive
within the first six to twelve months of
employment. (Drake International)
Onboarding surveys provide the first
opportunity for insight about the perception
a new employee has about a company and
its processes.
Research suggests, the first 120 days
define how employees feel about their work
environments and decide whether they will
remain or leave an organization.
The task of asking employees if they
found the onboarding process informative is
too vague on its own. Instead, consider
asking new employees about:
1. Clarity of pre-employment
communications.
2. If they were introduced to key
colleagues.
3. Availability of training.
4. Whether the job description reflects
their roles within the organization.
5. If experience on the job matches their
expectations of the position when they
joined.

3. Be proactive. Tell employees how much
they’re appreciated. New hires can offer
fresh perspectives on their surroundings.
Ask how they were integrated, details about
interactions with colleagues and
management, and perceptions of work
processes to quickly identify strengths and
weaknesses. Detect and address problems
early to ensure new employees are
encouraged to stay, feel their opinions are
valued, and leadership cares about their
successes in their new roles. After
investing time and expense in recruiting
personnel, businesses may seek to grow
new employees through training and
experience, investments which are often
significant to the employee and the
company. It’s never too early to begin
retention efforts.
:: Retention Surveys
Employees with tenure are the greatest
assets for an organization, and efforts
invested in retaining these employees are
vital. Long-term employees have critical
experience and job knowledge which can
only be amassed over time in a position.
While the process should be focused on
people, retention efforts help protect the
employer’s bottom-line, or the taxpayers’
investment.
Leaders should not make assumptions
about what will keep employees engaged
and productive; nor should management
speculate that all employees want the same
thing. They should solicit the valuable
opinions of their workforce for continual
improvement efforts, and as a way of
demonstrating their commitment to
improving conditions for current employees.
Just as leaders show appreciation for
new hires, they should also show gratitude
to long-serving employees. Imagine this
scenario: A supervisor calls a key employee
into the office for a meeting and says, “I
probably haven’t told you this often enough,
but you are important to this team and to
me. I can’t imagine losing you. I know we’ve
been through a rough time lately, and I want
you to know how much I appreciate all
you’ve done and the way you’ve done it. I’d
like you to know that I want you to hang in
there. I’d also like to know what you want to
do next. What do you want to learn? What
career goals are you thinking about? What
can I do to help you reach those goals? I’d
like to know what will keep you here. And I’d
like to know what could entice you to leave.”
(Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2010)
Every manager probably expects to
hear their direct reports want a raise;
however, research indicates people want
more from work than a paycheck. When
managers ask the question “What can we
provide you, other than a raise, to increase
job satisfaction?” they will likely hear at least
one thing employees may view as valuable
to their professional growth or job
satisfaction. An individual may want more
variety in his or her job duties, or may want
more responsibility than has been expected
previously.
Stay interviews are viewed by many
employees as an exercise in sincerity.
Managers don’t need to have all the
answers. Stay interviews are about
brainstorming for possibilities and creating a
general plan. Solutions can be
experimented with, tested, discarded, or
fine-tuned until they become effective.
(Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2010)
Some managers don’t hold stay
interviews because they fear they won’t be
able to deliver on some employee requests.
This scenario is particularly true during
economic downturns with position cuts;
however, avoiding conversations about
what will retain employees often creates
unintended problems. Avoiding employee
input and making assumptions may
inadvertently encourage staff to seek
employment elsewhere. (Kaye & Jordan-
Evans, 2010)

4. :: Exit Interviews
Since it’s not possible to completely
eliminate undesired turnover, an exit
interview is the final opportunity to receive
feedback on the employee’s experience and
convert their input into efforts to retain other
employees.
“The purpose of an exit interview is to
get the departing employee to divulge why
she is leaving and how she feels about her
experience with the company,” says
Alexandra Levit, the author of Blind Spots:
The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to
Believe on Your New Path to Success.
“Ostensibly, this provides data that senior
leadership will use to improve things.”
(Smith, 2012)
Perhaps the largest challenge with exit
surveys is ensuring complete honesty in
responses. People do not want to burn
bridges with their managers, colleagues, or
the company. Employees who leave
companies generally don’t share valuable,
negative information about the job they’re
departing.
Many industry leaders have published
advice for employees on appropriate
responses to exit surveys: “I do think
employees should be completely honest in
the exit interview,” says Jay Canchola, an
HR business partner for Raytheon. “Without
the perspective of the departing employee,
the opportunity for the workplace to improve
is decreased.” (Smith, 2012)
Although research suggests honesty
may be the best way to learn what
employees believe will improve job
satisfaction for staff remaining with the
company, a common perception exists:
“When it comes to exit interviews, the
general rule is, if you don’t have anything
nice to say, lie;” Alexandra Levit says.
“While it may be tempting to use the
meeting to spill your guts about the
company’s difficult personalities and
insufferable policies, don’t give in.” (Smith,
2012)
Other experts suggest a balanced
approach by suggesting honesty is good but
being too critical could tarnish the
employee’s reputation within the company
and damage chances of getting a reference
from them.
Open communication must be
incorporated into the exit interview process.
Honest feedback must be welcome and
confidential. Let employees know exit
interviews are generally reviewed for overall
trends, rather than identifying the individual.
Employers can further minimize risk of
misleading or overly limiting information by
using a properly designed format and
presentation for exit interviews. Some
employees find it difficult to give honest
answers in the face-to-face setting, but feel
free to speak their minds in an online exit
interview management system. (Carvin &
Main, 2012)
The most effective exit interviews
combine a two-step process by integrating:
1. A self-administered web-based
survey.
2. Face-to-face and telephone follow-
up meetings.
This two-step process gives employees an
open forum to freely express themselves,
and provides an opportunity to gain
clarification of their answers. It is preferable
for someone other than the immediate
supervisor conduct the exit interview to
reduce the likelihood of a biased response.
(Drake International)
Drake illustrates the ongoing feedback
loop associated with proper use of exit
interviews and surveys (see Figure 2).

5. :: Retention: Best Practices
Tailor retention efforts to individual staff.
Polling an entire population with the same
criteria provides consistency, but may not
be the appropriate criteria for a subset of
employees such as top performers.
Generalizations may not provide
management with the necessary
information. Know what information you
want to discover and know from whom you
need it.
Success will come with establishing and
maintaining a conversation with individuals.
Learn about personal contributions,
enjoyable aspects of the position, and what
sort of person would be suited for a role.
Do not become defensive of responses that
are negative. Consider honest feedback
vital.
If retention surveys and interviews are
conducted correctly, they provide a wealth
of information defining opportunities for
improvement. The data must be gathered
over a period of time, as a single survey or
interview will not provide feedback relevant
to the entire population of participants. Data
should be tracked on a perennial basis to
show development of trends.
Results should lead to improvement
efforts, implementation of changes, and
reevaluation of results. Appreciation is the
most important tool in all stages of an
employee’s tenure. Among the common
reasons why employees say they choose to
stay with an organization are supportive
management and feeling valued.
Appreciation is also an important investment
that could pay off in employee loyalty.
:: Risks
Ignored or improperly addressed
opportunities for improvement can lead to
considerable loss. Investing resources into
retention efforts is pointless unless the
information is used to develop the
employer’s effectiveness with its
employees.
Managers should listen to employees,
compile data, and respond; and what they
say is critical. Responses such as “That’s
unrealistic” will immediately halt the
dialogue and might even propel employees
into a job search. Managers need to look for
ways find out what could work rather than
resorting to reasons why it won’t. (Kaye &
Jordan-Evans, 2010)
Figure 2 Drake International

6. :: Conclusion
Developing a retention strategy is a
necessary course of action to determine
organizational needs and methods of
addressing those needs. Strategies will
evolve over time (see figure 2). The exit
interview process can be changed to a
retention process by simply replacing
references to ‘exit’ with ‘retention’. The
retention cycle in a well-built process will
function the same way as an exit interview
process.
Monitor progress over time. Valid
comparisons can be drawn between period
to period results, and comparing them with
turnover levels. Employers can track
whether changes yield desired effects by
comparing ongoing results with current
employee satisfaction through retention
surveys.
The long-term solution includes creating
a culture based on open communication
and providing a comfortable method
fostering honesty from employees. Talent
managers must make improvements to the
retention process based on data, and
should inform employees of the positive
changes that arise from the input of other
employees. (Carvin & Main, 2012)

7. Works Cited
Accenture. (2013). Defining Success 2013 Global Research Results. Retrieved from Accenture Web site:
http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-IWD-2013-Research-
Deck-022013.pdf
American Psychological Association. (2012, August 28). Work-Life Fit and Enjoying What They Do Top the
List of Reasons Why Employees Stay On the Job, New APA Survey Finds. Retrieved from
American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/08/work-
life.aspx
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012, September 18). Employee Tenure Summary. Retrieved from Bureau of
Labor Statistics website: www.bls.gov
Carvin, B., & Main, K. (2012, September 28). Thing Exit Interivews Are Pointless? You're Missing Out.
Retrieved from Talent Management: http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/think-exit-interviews-
are-pointless-you-re-missing-out/1
De Groote, M. (2012, September 6). Employee Retention: Surveys look at why people stay in their jobs`.
Retrieved from Deseret News: www.deseretnews.com
Drake International. (n.d.). Exit Interviewing: What Needs To Change? Retrieved from Drake
International Publications: http://www.drakeintl.co.uk/Publications/Exit-Interviewing.pdf
Hays. (2012). Retention: Is It Getting Enough Attention? Retrieved from Hay.cn:
http://www.hays.cn/prd_consump/groups/hays_common/@cn/@content/documents/digitalas
set/hays_088412.pdf
Inc. (n.d.). Employee Retention. Retrieved from Inc. Web site:
http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/employee-retention.html
Kamenetz, A. (2012, January 12). The Four-Year Career. Retrieved from Fast Company Generation Flux:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1802731/four-year-career
Kaye, B., & Jordan-Evans, S. (2010, April 3). Prevent Exit Interviews. Retrieved from Talent Management:
http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/prevent_exit_interviews/1
Smith, J. (2012, July 31). You Quit Your Job. Now They Demand an Exit Interview. What Do You Say?
Retrieved from Forbes Web site: www.forbes.com