Your Ultimate Stay Interview Toolkit

“Why are my employees leaving?” – It’s a valid question that should be asked. But perhaps just as important is the question, “Why are my employees staying?” Uncovering what is going well and what might need course-correction for employees who have chosen to stick around can be just as valuable as performing the usual post-mortem for teammates who decide to leave. At the end of the day, If the goal is to retain staff, the stay interview can help you understand what you may be able to do to retain talent in the future. Read on to unlock the toolkit for putting together a stay interview for your team. 

What is a stay interview?

A stay interview is conducted between managers and employees to discuss what is going well and uncover what could be improved upon in the workplace. In order for the stay interview to be effective, the questions asked by the manager should be standard but structured. A stay interview can take the form of a casual conversation and the amount of time the interview takes can be as short as 30 minutes long.

During the interview, teammates should be able to express feelings concerning the job in an honest way without fearing retribution. Stay interviews are nothing without honesty. Workers need to know that their opinion is heard. Managers will need to be prepared for the good opinions along with the bad as they begin open discussions. It takes both improving the bad and enhancing the good to build a quality workplace culture and make processes as effective as possible.

Why use stay interviews?

The stay interview is used for the retention of employees. Not only that, but the power of stay interviews could uncover important employee experiences. These interviews can help an employer:

• Obtain information that is actionable concerning trends among office employees
• Understand how employees feel about their positions and what could be improved
• Create trust among staff and management
• Provide daily engagement among staff
• Find out if any challenges exist that helps the employee to remain motivated

Stay interviews, along with data from tracking important employee retention metrics can help companies build employee retention strategies that keep your employees in your employment!

How to conduct a stay interview

There are a few key steps that can help managers and leaders get started with conducting an interview: 

1. Have the Interview Pre-scheduled

It is a good idea to have your interviews pre-scheduled so that employees can prepare their thoughts. Scheduling interviews on a regular cadence can also help ensure employees that they’ll have an opportunity to share their thoughts.

2. Give your reason for the interview

When you begin your interview, give the employee your reason for it. Interviewees should also know what they can expect while being interviewed. This will allow you to develop trust among staff so that the answers provided are helpful.

3. Allow employees to feel comfortable and safe

When your interview is conducted, it should be in an environment that is both comfortable and safe. A good example is having the interview in an open area where others can see so that it can feel casual. When the employee feels comfortable during the interview, they will be able to give honest and open answers positively and willingly.

4. Ask the right questions

Interview questions should be productive. Getting too specific or too broad can decrease the value of the answer. The questions should also be encouraging in nature so that an employee can answer honestly and openly without feeling afraid of repercussions. Questions should reflect genuine care for the interviewees’ feelings so that they know their answers will be taken seriously. 

5. Show employee appreciation

It can be good to show appreciation for employees at the start or end of the stay interview. Your teammates are here putting in the hard work to keep the business running. Calling out specific strengths that they bring to the table can help remind you and them what makes them a valuable member of the company. 

6. Conduct a follow up with the employee

After the interview is complete, follow up a few days later with the employee. This will show that their time was appreciated and that you actively listened to them. You can do this in person or through an email.

7. Make use of gathered information to implement change

Making use of the information that you obtained from the interviews should permit you to make changes so that the entire business and staff can benefit. You should have a plan of what the information will be used for so that action can be taken once interviews have concluded. This will allow your staff to see how serious you are about obtaining feedback for company improvement.

Interview questions

A few of the questions that you can ask while conducting the stay interview include the following:

• What part of the job would you mind to be done differently?
• What makes your job exciting?
• What keeps you motivated at work?
• What motivates you to come to work every day?
• Have you ever thought about leaving?
• What would make your job more enjoyable?
• What do you expect to learn from working here?

Conclusion

While the stay interview is a great way to eliminate possible employee turnover, there are many other methods that can also contribute to keeping employees happy and nurturing their holistic wellness. When you are ready to  earn how Wellhub can improve employee retention, get in touch with us today!

Resources:

• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/30/why-stay-interviews-are-the-next-big-trend-of-the-great-resignation.html