Dare to Care in the Workplace: A Guide to the New Way We Work<\/a><\/em> (Advantage Media Group, 2021).<\/p>\n\u201cStay interviews promote a more intimate relationship between employers and employees,\u201d she says. \u201cWhether you\u2019re the CEO, a VP, director or manager, you need to understand what the internal customer\u2014the employee\u2014wants and why they choose to continue to work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dressler agrees. \u201cSince our engagement check-ins are supplemented by meaningful everyday interactions, they are successful because there\u2019s already a high-trust foundation and one where the employee feels comfortable and confident enough to be candid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Be clear with employees about the reason for holding the interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing honest and upfront with employees is essential,\u201d says John Morgan, president of LHH, a talent acquisition and recruitment firm headquartered in Maitland, Fla. \u201cIf employees see organizations making the effort to gain honest feedback and are transparent in the challenges they are looking to address, employees will be a lot more forthcoming in sharing their feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily Valentin, head of U.S. operations at Adzuna, a global jobs search engine based in Indianapolis, advises managers to provide employees with questions beforehand.<\/p>\n
\u201cShare some of the questions you are eager to cover,\u201d she says, \u201cso employees have time to reflect and come prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Focus on Employees<\/p>\n
Managers shouldn\u2019t think of stay interviews as the solution to the Great Resignation. The meetings\u2019 primary purpose is to foster trust and engagement, supporting employees in their roles and in their careers. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf an employee feels like their stay interview is solely for the purpose of retaining talent [to] benefit the company, then the intent of the interview has been lost,\u201d says Amy Mosher, chief people officer for isolved. \u201cLead with empathy, focusing on facilitating open, candid conversations about what motivates the employee to stay at that organization, what they want to do next, as well as potential threats that could make the employee consider leaving the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mosher adds that the name \u201cstay interview\u201d can sometimes imply an employer-focused conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call them \u2018engagement check-ins\u2019 to emphasize the goal of building a high-trust relationship between managers and employees,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Another mistake is conducting the meeting like an interrogation.<\/p>\n
\u201cManagers might ask questions like, \u2018Why do you choose to work for me? Why would you leave? You would never leave, right?\u2019 \u201d Quinn Votaw says. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to interrogate the people who you work with every day. Make sure you\u2019re in a good place to receive [their] information empathetically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, be careful that the conversation doesn\u2019t feel like an exit interview, in which questions typically skew toward the negative and focus on the reasons a person might leave the role, Mosher advises. The exchange should include positive topics such as career goals and development opportunities.<\/p>\n
Valentin recommends meeting somewhere other than a conference room, which can feel formal or stiff. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the objective of having an honest conversation, managers will get more-candid feedback if the conversation takes place over a coffee or a walk,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t Delay<\/p>\n
Most companies turn to stay interviews as a last-ditch effort when they are having retention issues, rather than proactively making them part of the employee engagement or employee experience strategy to begin with, says Shaara Roman, author of The Conscious Workplace: Fortify Your Culture to Thrive in Any Crisis <\/em><\/a>(Bedgebury Press, 2022). <\/p>\n\u201cI like to advise leaders to think and act on things before they become a problem,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Managers may be reluctant to conduct stay interviews, fearing they will be opening a can of worms and putting thoughts of leaving into employees\u2019 heads. Quinn Votaw says it\u2019s natural for managers to want to avoid stay interviews for those reasons. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe manager might think, \u2018If I start asking an employee why they work for me, I\u2019m going to know if they\u2019re happy, mad, sad or glad being here. I might have to do something, and if I can\u2019t, they\u2019re going to be more disgruntled, and because we\u2019re in the Great Resignation \u2026 I\u2019m going to have to do her work, so I\u2019m just going to avoid this completely,\u2019 \u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But when you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know, the risk of an employee leaving only grows. <\/p>\n
\u201cStay interviews are an iteration of fierce conversations,\u201d Quinn Votaw says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to learn things that you\u2019re going to have to react to, but that\u2019s the point. Ignoring potential problems won\u2019t make them go away.\u201d <\/p>\n
Stephanie Vozza is a freelance writer based in Franklin, Tenn.<\/em><\/p>\n Illustration by Marc Rosenthal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Stay Interview Questions<\/strong><\/span>
<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Here are some questions managers can ask during stay interviews:<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n\n- <\/span>What do you look forward to each workday?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What do you like most\u2014or least\u2014about working here?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What keeps you working here?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>If you could change something about your job, what would it be?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What would make your job more satisfying?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>How do you like to be recognized?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What talents are not being used in your current role?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What would you like to learn here?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What motivates\u2014or demotivates\u2014you?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What can I do to best support you?<\/span><\/li>\n
- <\/span>What can I do more\u2014or less\u2014of as your manager?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Source: SHRM sample HR form.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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