Stay Interviews

Worried a key member of your team could leave? Hold a stay interview and hope you’ll never need to do an exit interview.
Stay interviews can help head off an employee’s decision to quit a job. By holding a one-on-one meeting with your employee, you can explore their feelings about their position and uncover what might make them stay. You can use a stay interview with a disgruntled employee – but a stay interview can also help you keep on top of the needs of a seemingly happy employee. In fact, a stay interview may aid in preventing that employee from ever becoming disgruntled.
Take your prize employee to a neutral setting, like a coffee shop or restaurant. Take some time to get to know them better. Then ask questions about how they feel about their job and career path.
Stay interview questions could include:

• What do you like about your work?
• What would keep you here?
• What makes for a great day at work?
• What do you want to learn this year?
• Is there anything you’d like to change about your job?
• How about your team or department?
• Am I using your talents? Fully?
• That would make your job more satisfying and rewarding?
• Do you feel supported in your career goals?
• Do you feel we recognize you? What kind of recognition do you like?

Don’t be afraid of what your employee might say. Sure, you can’t always meet your employee’s requests. But you can validate their feelings, express your support and assure them you’ll do what you can to explore options. Avoid saying you can’t meet their needs in your initial meeting – for some employees, that’s enough to prompt a job search. Instead, commit to reviewing their feedback and give them a timeline for further discussion. Sometimes, just listening and working to discover solutions are what your employee really needs.