How to conduct stay interviews that are effective

Stay interviews are essential if you care and see the benefits of retaining talent. “Employers can’t fix what they don’t understand” was the quote in a recent article I read; if you aren’t regularly conducting stay interviews, then you don’t truly understand why people are choosing to leave the organization. You can’t fix what you don’t understand. If you want to understand, conduct stay interviews on a regular basis!

If you are a middle manager, you don’t need to wait for your entire organization to implement stay interviews. You can, and should, be doing them consistently with your team.

The caveat here is that you absolutely should intend to do something with information gleaned: the feedback is only as good as what you do with it. In order to encourage employees to be honest and share valuable information, they need to see that their feedback is taken seriously. When nothing comes out of it, they see no benefit and will share less and less. This could do more harm than good.

Do:

✔️ Ask specific, but open-ended questions (see below for great questions to ask!)

✔️ Have your questions mapped out ahead of time

✔️ Conduct them 1:1 (and aim to do them with the entire team within a short period of time)

✔️ Listen to understand and gather information

✔️ Probe for more information – “tell me more”, “what one example can you give me?”, etc.

✔️ Thank them for being honest and sharing

✔️ Document the feedback

✔️ Share plans to address feedback (and make it timely!)

✔️ Make it an informal conversation

✔️ Give your full attention

✔️ Look for patterns/trends

✔️ Seek assistance / support if you aren’t sure how to approach or act on feedback

✔️ Conduct them on a regular basis

✔️ Remember that the ultimate goal is everyone working together toward a common mission

✔️ Create a way to track changes (with goals and clear success measures) and communicate consistently

Don’t:

❌ Listen to respond

❌ Get defensive

❌ Take feedback personally

❌ Pass judgment

❌ Do stay interviews just for show

❌ Be hard on yourself

❌ Aim for perfection

Realistic expectations:

If you’ve never done this before, you have to start somewhere. It may take time to gain trust of employees. Start & keep at it – consistency is crucial.
A piece of feedback might trigger you where you want to respond to it – really try not to. You can mark down that you want to clarify it later, but really just listen to gain information and seek to understand. Acknowledge that each person has a right to their own thoughts and feelings. Try to understand where they are coming from without passing judgment or projecting.

Great questions to ask:

📌 What do you look forward to each day at work?

📌 What are you learning here and what else do you want to learn?

📌 Why do you stay here?

📌 When is the last time you thought about leaving us and what prompted it?

📌 What can I do to make your job better for you?

📌 Do I tell you when you do something well?

📌 Do I say and do things to help you do your job better?

📌 What are three ways I can be a better manager for you?

📌 What can I do more of as your manager? Less of as your manager?

📌 What do you dread about work every day?

📌 What would tempt you to leave the company?

📌 Which of your talents are you not using in your current role?

📌 Do you feel you’re getting clear goals & objectives?

📌 What do you think of the L&D opportunities that are available to you?

📌 Do you feel valued and recognized in the company / on the team?

📌 What do you feel we should definitely change about or add to our offices?

📌 What are we currently not doing as a company that you feel we should?

📌 Do you have enough tools & resources to do your job properly? If not, what is missing?

📌 What software/tool should we stop using right away?

Tell me

When you do this and what your experience is like! I love to hear from you. amber@awcoach.co

Many organizations struggle with issues like high turnover, burnout, low productivity, gossip/politics, and ineffective leadership. Amber offers an easy-to-start streamlined solution through one-on-one leadership coaching, administering & debriefing Hogan assessments, dynamic leadership workshops, and personalized strategic guidance. The result? Reduced turnover, improved productivity and innovation, and a strategic and thriving workplace. Ready to discover how coaching can benefit your organization?

How to conduct stay interviews that are effective

Do:

Don’t:

Realistic expectations:

Great questions to ask:

Tell me

Proud Member

Quick Links

Get the monthly newsletter, Insights

Before you go...