Have you ever left a job and sworn you were going to blast them on your exit interview? But, when it came down to it, you didn’t… because, frankly, you know better than to burn bridges.
In an ideal company, no employee should ever feel so frustrated that when they are ready to leave, they want to unload years of frustration and anger on the person performing the exit interview. One solution to preventing this from occurring is actually quite simple: Stay Interviews.
What is a Stay Interview?
Imagine a manager saying to an employee, “What keeps you working here as opposed to someplace else?” Then, imagine that manager listening to the answer and giving it real thought… maybe even taking action on what they heard. That is what a stay interview is all about – working to find out what our employees love about their role and the company to ensure we replicate that experience for others and identifying problems or concerns that could be remedied.
Stay interviews are a way to check in with an employee to make sure they’re satisfied in their current role, if they have all the tools necessary to do their job effectively, and if they are excited by their career. Taking care of the employee now so that they don’t want to leave… hence a “stay interview”.
When Do Stay Interviews Happen?
Stay interviews don’t happen on an employee’s last day as a desperate attempt to get them to stick around. Stay interviews happen throughout an employee’s tenure with a company. In fact, they can be rolled into your review process whether that’s quarterly, semi- annually or annually.
What Is the Goal of a Stay Interview?
Stay interviews are designed to be a time of open communication where employees can speak freely about their needs without fear of negative repercussion. It shouldn’t be an opportunity for employees to vent, although that certainly can happen if the questions/formatting is not well designed. It also shouldn’t be a free-for-all bonanza for employees to ask for something and expect it to be delivered on a silver platter. Many times, managers will collect all the data from their stay interviews and attempt to identify trends/patterns in the responses and address themes instead of one-off comments hoping to make the job situation better for all, not just one.
The Dangers of a Stay Interview
One downside of a stay interview is when they are not formatted correctly. Getting a set list of questions from your HR team could help streamline your process and ensure all employees get asked a similar set of questions so trends can be tracked and acted upon.
Another downside is when information the employees provide is not appropriately considered or when there is no follow-up once the feedback has been provided. This may create a situation that is actually de-motivating for an individual. Making sure both sides are held accountable for their role in stay interviews ensures success.
Keeping track of these conversations is easily done with our Manage 4 Performance™ software!
Stay Interview Sample
Still not sure how to proceed? We’ve got you covered. Here are some questions you may want to ask your employees to start these conversations.
- Opening: I would like to have an informal chat with you to better understand how your job is going so I can do my best to support you with any issues that are within my purview.
- What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?
- If you could change one thing about your position, what would that be and why?
- What could I do to best support you?
- What talents/skills that you possess are not being used in your current role?
- What might tempt you to start looking elsewhere?
- What are a few things that keep you here?
- Closing: Thank you for being open and honest about your experience here. I will do my best to address what you have shared and provide follow up at a later date.
Whatever the concerns are, the best employers are willing to listen to employees because keeping and cultivating great employees is more cost effective and leads to greater success.
Stats on Why Managing for Engagement Matters
Want the cold, hard stats on why it makes more sense to keep your employees and to encourage engagement, even if it costs a little bit to do it?
- $500 billion is lost annually due to disengaged employees (source)
- Employee engagement is a consistent predictor of many organizational outcomes (including sales and profitability) (source)
- People who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged and productive (source)
- A disengaged employee can cost a company up to $3,400 of every $10,000 they make in annual salary (source)
We’d love to share more about stay interviews, keeping the talent your company has, and how to Manage 4 Performance™. Connect with a member of our team to chat with us today!
Have you ever left a job and sworn you were going to blast them on your exit interview? But, when it came down to it, you didn’t… because, frankly, you know better than to burn bridges.
In an ideal company, no employee should ever feel so frustrated that when they are ready to leave, they want to unload years of frustration and anger on the person performing the exit interview. One solution to preventing this from occurring is actually quite simple: Stay Interviews.
What is a Stay Interview?
Imagine a manager saying to an employee, “What keeps you working here as opposed to someplace else?” Then, imagine that manager listening to the answer and giving it real thought… maybe even taking action on what they heard. That is what a stay interview is all about – working to find out what our employees love about their role and the company to ensure we replicate that experience for others and identifying problems or concerns that could be remedied.
Stay interviews are a way to check in with an employee to make sure they’re satisfied in their current role, if they have all the tools necessary to do their job effectively, and if they are excited by their career. Taking care of the employee now so that they don’t want to leave… hence a “stay interview”.
When Do Stay Interviews Happen?
Stay interviews don’t happen on an employee’s last day as a desperate attempt to get them to stick around. Stay interviews happen throughout an employee’s tenure with a company. In fact, they can be rolled into your review process whether that’s quarterly, semi- annually or annually.
What Is the Goal of a Stay Interview?
Stay interviews are designed to be a time of open communication where employees can speak freely about their needs without fear of negative repercussion. It shouldn’t be an opportunity for employees to vent, although that certainly can happen if the questions/formatting is not well designed. It also shouldn’t be a free-for-all bonanza for employees to ask for something and expect it to be delivered on a silver platter. Many times, managers will collect all the data from their stay interviews and attempt to identify trends/patterns in the responses and address themes instead of one-off comments hoping to make the job situation better for all, not just one.
The Dangers of a Stay Interview
One downside of a stay interview is when they are not formatted correctly. Getting a set list of questions from your HR team could help streamline your process and ensure all employees get asked a similar set of questions so trends can be tracked and acted upon.
Another downside is when information the employees provide is not appropriately considered or when there is no follow-up once the feedback has been provided. This may create a situation that is actually de-motivating for an individual. Making sure both sides are held accountable for their role in stay interviews ensures success.
Keeping track of these conversations is easily done with our Manage 4 Performance™ software!
Stay Interview Sample
Still not sure how to proceed? We’ve got you covered. Here are some questions you may want to ask your employees to start these conversations.
- Opening: I would like to have an informal chat with you to better understand how your job is going so I can do my best to support you with any issues that are within my purview.
- What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?
- If you could change one thing about your position, what would that be and why?
- What could I do to best support you?
- What talents/skills that you possess are not being used in your current role?
- What might tempt you to start looking elsewhere?
- What are a few things that keep you here?
- Closing: Thank you for being open and honest about your experience here. I will do my best to address what you have shared and provide follow up at a later date.
Whatever the concerns are, the best employers are willing to listen to employees because keeping and cultivating great employees is more cost effective and leads to greater success.
Stats on Why Managing for Engagement Matters
Want the cold, hard stats on why it makes more sense to keep your employees and to encourage engagement, even if it costs a little bit to do it?
- $500 billion is lost annually due to disengaged employees (source)
- Employee engagement is a consistent predictor of many organizational outcomes (including sales and profitability) (source)
- People who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged and productive (source)
- A disengaged employee can cost a company up to $3,400 of every $10,000 they make in annual salary (source)
We’d love to share more about stay interviews, keeping the talent your company has, and how to Manage 4 Performance™. Connect with a member of our team to chat with us today!