Employee Retention Risk Assessment Self Audit for Managers | Jo-Ann Garbutt

As employee retention continues to be a top concern of many leaders, I am reminded of an important quote from Leigh Branham’s book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: “employee turnover is not an event — it is a process of disengagement that can take days, weeks, months or even years until the actual decision to leave occurs.” This quote reflects the often complex deliberation process that workers go through between the time they first think of quitting and the actual decision to leave. This process occurs over time and is informed by various events or “triggers”, such as a change in manager, being passed over for a promotion, and even return-to-office policies, to name a few. And with the employer-employee power dynamic tilted in favor of employees, many workers feel more empowered to make these decisions in a shortened timeframe. As managers proactively identify and act on the retention risks that affect their organizations most, this template by Jo-Ann Garbutt provides criteria to guide these decisions. It includes 18 questions across 5 categories (e.g., employee career interests, work-life satisfaction, etc.) influencing retention risk. The questions represent a self-audit where managers can reflect on their own experience with each employee and focus on those factors in managers’ control. A few sample questions include: 1) Do I invite and encourage contrary views to my ideas from this person? 2) Do I understand why this employee has chosen to work here and not at another company? 3) Do I understand if the working environment fits well with this employee’s personal and career needs? Managers can use these questions and create opportunities for better understanding aspects of their employees–particularly those that disproportionately influence their employees ‘ decision to leave or stay with an organization.