The Benefits Stay Interviews Can Bring to Your Company

What is a stay interview?

A stay interview is a conversation between a leadership team member and an employee. It aims to discover what keeps the employee working for the company and what aspects of the organization need improvement or change.

“Simply put, a stay interview is meant for a manager to understand what a certain employee likes and dislikes about their job or workplace,” explained Justina Raskauskiene, human resource team lead at Omnisend.

What are the benefits of a stay interview?

Developing and maintaining a stay interview program can bring enormous benefits to an organization, including the following:

1. Build trust and employee loyalty: According to iHire’s 2024 Talent Retention Report, many people quit their jobs due to management and company culture issues. Such problems include a problematic environment (32.4 percent), poor leadership (30.4 percent) and dissatisfaction with managers (27.7 percent). Stay interviews can help improve manager-employee relationships by demonstrating that workers’ opinions and experiences matter. This open dialogue promotes trust in management and fosters loyalty, making employees less likely to quit.
2. Promote teamwork and togetherness: There’s one big difference between stay interviews and exit interviews. The former focuses on idea-sharing between colleagues who want the same thing: a future with the company. In contrast, exit interviews, conducted when a person leaves an organization, often focus solely on the negative without acknowledging the positive aspects.
3. Address problems in the early stages: Effective stay interviews allow companies to identify and address problems before they become thorny. They’re a preemptive opportunity for companies to change policies, practices or related aspects that aren’t serving team members well.
4. Assess company culture health: According to the Oak Engage Toxic Workplace Report, 75 percent of survey respondents say they’ve experienced a toxic workplace culture. Also, 87 percent of those respondents report that their mental health has been affected. Clearly, workplace culture is paramount to a loyal, engaged workforce. Stay interviews can help managers track company culture metrics and promote a positive, strong company culture.
5. Help retain top talent and leaders: Stay interviews offer an opportunity to gather as much information as possible from key team members about their employee experience. Are they happy? Do they feel engaged? What aspects of the company need to evolve or change for them to consider it an “employer of choice”? “Stay interviews are the best way to reduce turnover and retain your best employees,” said Alisa Volynets, an HR Business Partner at RankUp.ua. “This seemingly simple step can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of your team, making them feel heard and important.”

6. Assess individual employees’ well-being: You may have a generally happy and productive workplace culture but still have some employees who struggle. These staffers often go unnoticed, especially if most team members are thriving. Checking in and assessing employees one-on-one can help you identify and address individual challenges and potentially stop an employee from quitting. “Stay interviews are one of the best tools for retaining great employees,” Volynets noted. “Instead of waiting for someone to leave, solve the problem on the spot by offering better terms to keep the employee. It is [crucial] to prevent such situations and create comfortable conditions that promote loyalty and form a strong team.”
7. Show how you compare to your competition: Your employees probably know as much as you do (if not more) about what your competitors offer their workers. During stay interviews, don’t be afraid to ask about the job market or industry trends. For example, ask, “What are our competitors offering in this area?” You can also learn about employee benefits and other management practices that have proven successful at other companies. You can discover ways to stand out from the competition and keep valuable employees.
8. Help develop better training programs: Feedback from stay interviews can help you improve your investment in employee training. You’ll learn about areas of interest to key employees. Also, you’ll get advice on the best professional development opportunities to offer your team to maximize engagement and retention.
9. Energize employees: The simple act of checking in and asking an employee’s opinion can go a long way. You won’t always be able to implement all of their suggestions. However, when managers focus on an employee’s thoughts and experiences, the team member often feels energized and motivated to contribute to improving the company.
10. Are free: Stay interviews don’t cost anything but time. Plus, they’re a worthwhile investment if you take the feedback seriously.

How do you conduct a stay interview?

Creating an effective model for a stay interview is straightforward. Follow these eight simple steps to get started.

1. Schedule the stay interview ahead of time.

Planning the meeting with your employee well in advance helps keep the interview organized and on point. It also shows the employee that you value their time.

2. Share the purpose and expectations of the meeting.

Some employees get anxiety when managers ask to meet with them. Make it clear from the start that no one is in trouble. Share the purpose of the meeting so the staffer can think ahead about the thoughts and ideas they want to share.

3. Hold the interview in a comfortable, quiet and casual setting.

This is not a conversation to have on the fly. Take time to relax the employee and ease into the discussion.

4. Allow enough time for a meaningful conversation.

Do not attempt to have this discussion in 15 minutes. Allot about 45 minutes for the meeting to ensure a richer dialogue and a better exchange of ideas. Encourage a two-way exchange where both parties feel heard and valued.

Volynets emphasized the importance of creating a dialogue — not giving a lecture. “[Ensure the] meeting remains relaxed and honest [and] takes the form of an open dialogue,” Volynets advised. “Ask clear, real questions that the person can answer in detail.”

5. Show that you genuinely value employee feedback.

Ensure the team member understands this isn’t just an empty exercise; their input has practical value. If employees believe you genuinely care about their feedback, they will invest more in sharing their thoughts.

Volynets noted that the discussion may not be entirely positive. “Be prepared for negative feedback but do not take it as a criticism of the company,” Volynets advised. “Analyze all the employee’s comments and wishes, and then create your own opinion and decide whether you can implement such changes in the company.”

6. Plan your questions.

You don’t need to ask 20-plus questions to have a successful stay interview. However, without specific planned questions, the conversation may lack direction. There are many good interview questions you can use for these conversations. Raskauskiene stressed the importance of open-ended questions to get employees to share rich and detailed ideas.

“For example, ‘What’s one thing about your work here that you’d tell a friend you’re proud of?’ is a question that isn’t predictable and reveals what truly motivates them,” Raskauskiene explained. “Questions like ‘How would you shape your role over the next few years?’ can help you anticipate how to retain the employee if their ambitions grow.”

Here are some additional questions to use when conducting a stay interview:

• What energizes you the most about your current role?
• What would make your job more satisfying?
• Do you feel recognized and valued for the work you do?
• In what ways do you like to be recognized?
• What type of self-improvement or career development opportunities are you interested in?
• How would you describe your current (and ideal) work-life balance?
• What do you like most (and least) about the company culture?
• What type of technology would make your day-to-day tasks easier?
• As your manager, what can I do to better support you?
• Would you recommend our company to someone else? Why or why not?
• What might tempt you to leave?

7. Communicate the next steps.

Once the interview is complete, share with the employee what the follow-up will look like. Let them know that leadership will review their feedback and communicate which ideas will be acted upon, which won’t and why.

“Such conversations can improve employee motivation and engagement — as long as you act on what you learn, not just ask their opinion,” Raskauskiene noted.

8. Share feedback with the entire company.

Although managers can’t always meet with all employees, sharing feedback from the stay interviews you do conduct helps everyone feel informed and in the know.

What are the do’s and don’ts of stay interviews?

Employers and managers should follow these best practices to ensure the success of stay interviews and maintain employee excitement.

Do

• Create a setting of collegial conversations between team members and leadership that genuinely solicits ideas and feedback from employees.
• Invite employees to share what is awesome and not so awesome about their employer.
• Schedule and plan your meeting with the employee (one-on-one).
• Foster an open, fun, creative, conversational, trust-based and strategic discussion.
• Offer ongoing meetings with as many employees as possible.
• Acknowledge that this is the first part of two; there will be a follow-up on the shared ideas, information and proposed changes.

Don’t

• Turn this discussion into a performance review or personal reflection on the employee sharing the feedback.
• Promise employees that their suggestions will be followed up on specifically as described or at all.
• Only meet with employees when things are going badly.
• Meet with employees in a group setting; these interviews should be conducted individually.
• Be judgmental, argumentative, hierarchical or combative.
• Make these conversations a one-time event with no follow-up discussion. The company at large should learn what ideas were shared during stay interviews; it should also learn whether any changes or improvements are being planned based on employee feedback.

Sammi Caramela contributed to this article.