Ten Questions the Boss Should Ask Every Employee

Recruiters at MRINetwork Worldwide, one of the worldís largest executive search organisations, experience daily the kind of things that trigger a candidate to go out and look for new employment. In the current recruitment climate, where there is a shortage of good quality candidates, companies need to be more pro-active in making sure the staff they already have are happy in their jobs. Bosses should apply the tools and strategies of external recruiting; proactively reaching out to the top talent they already have on a regular basis.

Steve Mills, Chief Executive Officer at MRINetwork Worldwide, says that bosses should always assume that their best employees are getting calls and offers from their competitors. ìForget about terms such as loyalty and adopt the policy that no one will work at a company longer than one year without being re-recruited,î he advises. ìEmployers have to accept that they must continually challenge top talent if they are to keep them.î

MRINetwork Worldwide offers ten questions that probe how employees feel about their jobs. The answers can often determine whether or not they will stay in their jobs:

1. If you could make any changes about your job, what would they be?
2. What are the aspects of your job that you enjoy most?
3. If you could return to any previous position you have held and stay for an extended period of time, which one would it be and why?
4. If you suddenly became financially independent, what would you miss most about your job?
5. In the morning, does your job make you jump out of bed or hit the snooze button?
6. What makes for a great working day?
7. What can we do to make your job more satisfying?
8. What can we do to support your career goals?
9. Do you get enough recognition?
10. What can we do to keep you with us?

Although these questions can be very useful at review time, they donít have to be asked in a formal session. Using this technique can actually enhance communication between managers and their employees.

ìTalking about these topics over a cup of coffee with an employee means they can be presented in a less formal manner,î says Mills. ìThe key is to promptly address any issues that could lead to a key staff member leaving your company, in the same respect, itís important that employees have a full understanding of any situations that cannot easily be changed.î

Another benefit to taking this approach with employees is that you can often discover things about your company culture or work environment that need fixing. If youíre hearing the same dissatisfaction, or the same contentment, from your people, itís easy to determine whatís working and whatís not!