The Simple Beauty Of The Entry Interview
As the great Resignation heats up and the CPA shortage increases, I have partnered with several clients in assessing where they can make changes in their retention and attraction of staff. Specifically, many firms need to implement ways to actually allow and encourage employees to bring their whole selves to work. Figuring out what makes an employee tick, what do they see as rewarding work and what are some of the key things they want to learn from the role that they have just started.
A great way to start is with the Entry Interview. Adam Grant, Professor of Management and Psychology at Wharton Business School is an avid supporter of the Entry Interview. An entry interview is an organized, unfiltered group conversation that you will have with your new hires as part of their onboarding. Rather than waiting for an employee to officially resign and conducting a ‘time machine’ set of questions about what could have been different, an Entry Interview starts by asking “what’s important to you outside of work and how can we support you?”. It offers management candid feedback on what the new employee is hoping to learn in the new role, what experiences is he/she hoping to gain, why are they here?
Introducing the entry interview allows for onboarding to become much more meaningful and paves the way for an ongoing conversation about motivation and development. The entry interview should be conducted by the new hires direct manager and ideally the Tax/Audit Partner or Managing Partner. It should take place before the new hires first day and throughout the first 3 weeks of their new role and ask the new employee direct questions about why they took the position, what do they enjoy about the company, what experiences did they enjoy in their last role and what do they want from this new job? What projects do they want to be involved in and what work do they enjoy/not enjoy doing? How do they feel rewarded and what developmental goals do they have?
Going one step further would be to conduct a ‘Stay Interview’.
This is a regular meeting that allows both manager and employee an opportunity to go over some of the highlights, lowlights and challenges of the role. What can be improved and what is going well? Keep the conversation going as much as possible throughout the employees tenure. Helping new hires feel connected to their managers is now more important than ever. Allowing an employee to feel that they have s ay in their development and management is also a hugely important factor in them feeling that they are engaged in meaningful work. A large percentage of candidates that I work with state that lack of mentorship and clarity on their career path are the main reasons for looking out. As the saying goes, people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. Whilst that is true, I will counter by saying that people also leave workplaces where they have no clear trajectory. Knowledge and certainty in ones position can create increased motivation and renewed energy.
In this age of hybrid work and constant uncertainty, empathetic and consistent leadership is more critical than ever.
