Most managers who interview and hire employees tend to ask traditional questions such as, “What are your biggest accomplishments?” and “Why are you the best candidate for this job?”
Then, when it’s time for an employee’s annual review, managers often ask questions that look toward the future such as, “What goals should you set for the next year?” and “What do you want to contribute to the team?”
These are all fine questions and they will help you accomplish good results, but what are you missing? According to marketing expert, Kate Weimer, there are three key questions that managers should ask their employees during the interview process and then on a regular basis. We share these three key questions in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.
Sure, most of us talk to those we supervise on a regular basis. It may not be every day, but we all typically have check-ins to discuss day-to-day projects. According to Weimer, effective managers should take advantage of this time to ask questions that go beyond the daily status of tasks and key steps. Try consistently asking these three important questions:
How Are You Liking Your Job? This might seem like a question you would reserve for new hires, but that’s not the case. It’s a loaded question. But because it is such a loaded question, it is likely to bring up a lot of underlying issues about what might be going right and wrong for the employee, and allows you, as a leader, to address them head-on.
What Can I Help You With? This question is a nice reminder for your employees that, as their leader, you’re there to help them. Employees can get really wrapped up in the idea that they have to tackle things on their own, but asking them this question lets them off the hook a little bit and lets them know they’re not in the job alone.
What Else Can I Be Doing Better? Humility is important in a leader, and it’s vastly underrated. This question not only tells your employees that you understand you can keep getting better at your job, it also is a backdoor way of getting them to think about struggles they’re having. Knowing these things can help you get ahead of problems before they become a bigger deal.
Try asking these questions of your employees every so often. They won’t expect it and they’ll see that you care about their personal experience with your organization. And the more positive experiences you can create, the better your retention rate.
Source: Kate Weimer is a marketing lead at Kinetix, specializing in social media recruitment marketing and account management. Using a combination of her background in social media and love for the written word, she’s shoving all buzzwords aside and making HR and recruitment marketing work in today’s digital world.