AT the start of every year, organisations are faced with resignations when staff who waited for their 13th cheque return from leave, only to quit.

With all signs pointing to a difficult year ahead, what is it that will cause your staff to jump ship in 2016? Is it in search of greener pastures as the cost of living escalates or will it be other internal factors that cause them to quit? These are the questions companies must consider as the year unfolds.

One possibility is that as the economy slows down, staff might be tempted to move for very small salary increments. Companies must therefore invest time in making sure their staff understand the value of staying and of loyalty.

One proven way of gathering insights into why employees leave is conducting exit interviews. While exit interviews may be effective, in some ways they are too late.

A different step towards retention is to understand why some employees remain with a company, and this can be achieved by staging interviews with longer tenured employees (three or more years). Consider asking these questions in staff satisfaction interviews: Why did you come to work here? Why have you stayed? What would make you leave? What are your non-negotiable employment considerations? What about your managers? What would you change or improve? Employees require a careful balance of different factors, often beyond financial, to feel truly satisfied and remain loyal.