Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss

The Reasons Employees Stay or Go

Managers should routinely ask their best employees this simple question: “What will keep you here?” Unfortunately, most managers don’t ask until they conduct employee exit interviews. By then, the question comes too late.

Ask your top people this pivotal question during “stay interviews.” These planned sessions, formal or informal, let you communicate how much you value your employees. Stay interviews help you find out if your staff members are happy and, if not, learn what might keep them engaged. Employees appreciate stay interviews because you begin by telling them how much they matter to your company. More than 90% of employees say their managers never tell them they are important to their firms.

A stay interview is a one-on-one conversation with employees about what they care about most on the job, and how you can adjust or coordinate their circumstances to make them happier. When you deploy stay interviews correctly, they engage staff members and increase their productivity. If people are thinking of leaving, stay interviews can dissuade them. Stay interviews help you learn what makes your employees tick and why they are...