Beth Ridley found that 100% of employees she interviewed had considered leaving, but stayed for money, benefits, and culture. Small gestures from leaders like saying hello or giving shout-outs stick with people and cost almost nothing to do.
Questions this video answers
October 16, 2024.
(1) Have you ever considered leaving the company? (2) Why do you stay?
100% of interviewees she has conducted stay interviews with said they had considered leaving.
Chapters
I was talking with a group of leaders today, and we're all kind of lamenting that, you know, all of the little things that thoughtful people, leaders do to show their employees that they really value them, really foster that sense of belonging. Small things like acknowledging birthdays, giving shout outs, asking about weekends. While it's really important, sometimes it can feel exhausting. It's a lot. And oftentimes we're left wondering, does anybody even care? Does anybody even notice? Does any of these small things that we do matter? So I am here to tell you that even though it may not feel like it, even though employees may not say how much they appreciate it, they really, really do. And the small things actually do matter and add up. And I say this because one of the things I do for clients is I conduct stay interviews. So basically, companies hire me to interview employees who are top performers but have stayed with the organization for a long time to always check in to see, like, what are we. Well, that we want to continue to do from an employee engagement and retention standpoint. So I always ask two questions in these interviews. Question number one, have you ever considered leaving the company? And question number two, why do you stay? And so the answer to question number one is 100% of everyone who I've ever interviewed for these state interviews has always said, yes, they have considered leaving. So I think just know that employees are always looking for a better job. And when I ask them, why do they stay? The answer is always, I would only leave if I got more money, better benefits, and at least the same or equivalent culture. So it's very rare that someone will leave for more money, more benefits, and not an equally good culture. And so the reason why they stay is because they're pretty sure that they're not going to get a great culture. And even if they get more money, it's not going to be worth it. And so that's why they stay. So then I asked them, well, what about the culture? Can you give examples of what makes it a great culture? And they always say, it's just those small little things. Like, my boss is always sure to say thank you and recognizes me. You know, people do say hello to me in the elevator. They do acknowledge my birthday, the really small things. And here's the deal. The more senior the leader is, the more those small things are even more meaningful. So sometimes someone will say, well, the CEO said hello to me in the elevator. And I was like, oh, wonderful. How long ago was that? Like, 25 years ago. And they remember these really small things. So I share all this to say, even though you may not hear it from other people and for whatever reason, employees aren't always expressing how much they do value and appreciate those small things. Those small things are absolutely noticed, absolutely appreciated, and it is the smallest of things that retains your top talent and it's worthwhile, even though sometimes kind of exhausting, to always do them. It's actually the most efficient and free and low cost thing that you can do that will get the highest return on your investment. So keep saying hi and keep saying thank you because it does matter.
