What Is a Stay Interview—and Why You Need Them Now
The summer rush stretches your team thin. Losing a solid tech right now isn’t just inconvenient, it’s expensive. One of the most effective ways to keep your best employees from walking away? Stay interviews. But what is a stay interview, and how can they improve employee retention?
What is a Stay Interview?
A stay interview is a focused one-on-one conversation between you and an employee. The goal of stay interviews is to find out what’s working, what’s not, and what might cause your employees to leave if not addressed.
What Are the Benefits of Stay Interviews?
When you don’t ask your team why they choose to stay, you leave retention up to chance. A simple stay interview can clarify an employee’s motivation for staying and pinpoint issues that could drive them out the door if not addressed. Here are three specific ways stay interviews help you hold onto good employees, especially during your busiest seasons:
1. Prevent Turnover Before It Happens: One of the top reasons employees quit is poor management. Stay interviews build trust and keep communication flowing so small issues don’t snowball into resignations.
2. Gauge Job Satisfaction: You might be happy with your employee’s performance. But are they happy in their role? Stay interviews help uncover friction points that might be causing problems or future goals that lead to career paths you’d otherwise miss.
3. Get Direct Feedback on Your Business: Use this time to learn what systems, processes, or policies are helping—or holding your team back.
Quick Tip: Don’t wait until your employee is ready to quit to check in or else your stay interview will become an exit interview. Schedule your stay interviews 30, 60, and 180 days and one at their one year mark after your new hire onboards. Outside of the probationary period, stay interviews should be conducted annually for current employees or anytime a significant change in your business structure occurs.
Stay Interview Questions to Ask
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by asking the wrong questions in an employee stay interview. You need to be asking open-ended questions that will provide real feedback. Here’s a few examples to get you started:
- What work are you doing here that you feel is most in line with your long-term goals? This question helps determine if your employee feels like they are on the right path. If they don’t know, they may not see a future with you.
- What do you need from the company to be successful? This question gives the employee an opportunity to speak up on what they want to change.
- Is there anything the leadership team could be doing differently? This question helps you understand the employees’ experience with their manager and the rest of your executive team.
- Do you feel challenged? Are you learning new things? This question clarifies if the employee is content with where they’re at, if they want more training, or if they’re bored in their work.
- What area of the company would you like to learn more about? This one is huge for entry-level roles. Maybe your helper wants to become a tech. Maybe your admin is curious about dispatch. You won’t know unless you ask.
- When was the last time you thought about leaving us? And what prompted it? It might’ve been one bad day or a bigger issue. Either way, now you know—and you can do something about it.
Quick Tip: Don’t get defensive. The feedback might sting, but it’s better than finding out too late after they quit during an exit interview.
Need Help Running Stay Interviews?
Whether you need a strategy or just want someone to guide the conversation, we’ve got you. Let’s make sure your team sticks with you through the busy season—and beyond.
(877) 816-6649