50 million. That’s the number of Americans who left their jobs during “the Great Resignation” in 2022.
Employees walk out the company’s door for a variety of reasons. But in most cases, there are proactive steps a company can take to retain its best talent. This is where stay interviews come in. About 52% of employees who left their jobs admitted that their company could have done something to retain them. Here, we understand what stay interviews are and discuss the best practices for conducting efficient and feedback-rich interviews.
Stay Interviews vs Exit Interviews
As an HR professional, understanding why your people leave or stay is vital for building a healthy work culture. That’s where stay interviews and exit interviews can make a difference. While both help glean valuable insights into employee satisfaction and retention, they have entirely different goals. Stay interviews focus on people you want to retain whereas exit interviews focus on finding out why employees leave.
During a stay interview, you determine why your employees choose to stick with your organization, what you can do to improve their job satisfaction and avoid burnout, and how you can build a retention strategy based on the feedback you collect. These interviews typically unfold annually or semi-annually.
An exit interview unfolds when an employee is leaving the company. It helps you collect feedback on why some employees choose to leave, spot recurring patterns that may lead to turnover, and understand how you can improve your retention strategy.
Choosing the Right Interviewer for Stay Interviews
When conducted by the right interviewer, stay interviews can uncover valuable findings to strengthen your retention strategy. This can depend on a variety of factors. For instance, a manager can conduct the interview if they already have a positive relationship with the employee. However, if a manager-employee relationship is not very good, your company can either consider an HR leader or a third-party interviewer for the best results. Having a third-party interviewer conduct the stay interview allows for a more judgment-free process where employees feel safe to speak candidly.
Regardless of who conducts these interviews, the goal should be to open a transparent and honest dialogue that makes employees feel “heard” and encourages them to reveal their thoughts without hesitation.
Important Interview Questions to Consider
Stay interviews are all about asking the right questions to receive the best possible feedback. Here are 7 questions to ask during the interview:
What do you like about your job?
This question helps uncover what motivates and engages employees about their work so you can further strengthen those areas.
What do you dislike about your job?
This is where you spot common challenges your people face at work. These answers can help you resolve recurring challenges, and help employees unlock their full potential and become more productive.
Why do you choose to stay here?
This is where you determine the positives of your work environment so you can use it to create similar experiences for everyone.
How can we improve your work-life balance?
Poor work-life balance is one of the top reasons many quit their jobs. This question helps uncover whether your team members feel overworked so you can take steps to avoid burnout.
Did you ever consider quitting this job? If yes, what prompted it?
This question uncovers what can boost your employees’ motivation. It can be a higher paycheck, remote work options, or improved work-life balance. Find out what changes you can bring to make your people feel more motivated.
Did you ever experience anxiety or frustration at work? Did you have help in coming out of it eventually?
This question helps you assess your employees’ mental health so you can take action to reduce stress, frustration, and anxiety at work.
What does your dream job look like?
Here, you can uncover your employees’ goals and skills you may not be aware of so you can later build a career development plan to help them succeed at work.
Some More Examples of Stay Interview Questions
Aside from the questions listed above, try asking the following questions for more detailed feedback:
- What are your thoughts on our organization’s recognition strategy?
- What are your thoughts on learning and growth opportunities here?
- What are some skills you’d like to acquire in the future?
- In what type of environment can you perform your best?
Use the Feedback Gathered to Improve Work Culture
You now know how to conduct stay interviews. However, it’s the steps you take after receiving employee feedback that contribute most to mitigating burnout and retaining your best talent. Remember, the best way to receive feedback that matters is to listen actively and ensure your employees feel safe and comfortable to voice their concerns.
Once the interview is complete, document and organize feedback as soon as possible. Find out which recurring issues impact employees the most and craft a plan to address each one of them. Communicate the changes you plan to implement with your employees so they know their opinions and concerns are taken seriously.
The Benefits of Stay Interviews
Replacing an employee is expensive. On average, it amounts to 6-9 months of the employee’s salary. While some staff turnover is inevitable, a higher turnover rate can take a direct hit at your business’s net profit.
This is why it’s vital to have a solid retention strategy that ensures workers don’t just stay but thrive on the job – and stay interviews are the biggest contributor to achieving this goal. During a stay interview, you can find out what may be impacting your employees negatively and what you can do to resolve their concerns.
Aside from boosting retention rate, stay interviews unlock higher employee engagement, improve productivity, improve financial performance (about 88% of companies that financially outperform other businesses ensure their employees feel heard), reduce recruitment costs, pump up team morale, and ultimately create a healthy work culture.
Over to You!
Stay interviews can be a goldmine of insights to keep your best talent happy, productive, and fulfilled. Conducting these interviews regularly (and by the right interviewer), actively listening, and making the best use of feedback not only keeps employee burnout at bay but also contributes to a positive and productive work culture.
Resources:
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stay-interviews-vs-exit-understanding-differences-benefits-paulsen/
- https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1995&context=etd
- https://peopleelement.com/blog/ask-before-they-leave-how-to-leverage-stay-interviews/
- https://www.hr-consulting-group.com/hr-news/leverage-stay-interviews-to-prevent-quiet-quitting-and-improve-employee-engagement
- https://www.testgorilla.com/blog/stay-interview/
