Your employees and coworkers are the company’s biggest asset. Therefore, you want to keep them happy and motivated to continue working in the business long term. High turnover is never a good thing for any company in any industry, and keeping employees engaged and happy in their workplace is key to employee retention and satisfaction. Here’s a brief introduction to “stay interviews” and how they can help foster employee engagement. 

What is a Stay Interview? 

A stay interview is an interview or a conversation between a manager and an employee, the purpose being to learn what keeps that employee working for the organization, as well as any areas that need improvement or change. (Business.com) These conversations clarify where the employer and/or employee need to improve and what is working well. It’s also an opportunity to hear employees’ concerns and interests. 

Benefits of a Stay Interview 

Conducting stay interviews has many benefits, including improving retention and improving the workplace for employees. 

1. Builds trust 

When employees feel like they have a voice and can share their thoughts and ideas, it builds trust and loyalty with their manager and team. Having the opportunity to share concerns that the workplace will try and improve shows the employee that the company cares about them and that what they bring to the table truly matters. Additionally, trust builds loyalty, meaning employees will likely want to stay at the company for a long time. 

2. Improves engagement 

Gathering feedback from your employees will keep them motivated and engaged to continue to do their best at their job. Checking in with your employees will give them the motivation to keep doing better and continue to help the company thrive as well. 

3. Creates positive improvements

Hearing an employee’s thoughts and concerns will help management create positive changes within the company. This includes focusing on your employees’ well-being, helping with work-life balance, and creating a workplace environment where employees feel they belong and can thrive.  

4. Promotes company culture

Conducting stay interviews can help to build and strengthen company culture, as it gives you insight into what motivates employees and helps them feel they belong. It’s a good time to assess the culture as well and take note of how employees are feeling so that you can make changes and improvements accordingly. 

5. Retain top talent

One of the most important aspects of a stay interview is how it can help with employee retention. As you build trust and loyalty and give employees a voice, they will want to continue to work where their opinion is valued. These interviews, when conducted properly and strategically, are an opportunity to keep employees engaged and to better understand how the company needs to evolve in order to maintain employee satisfaction.

Important Stay Interview Questions 

Here are some questions to consider asking your employees during a stay interview. 

• What do you enjoy about working here? 
  This is a great question to learn more about your employees’ daily challenges and what their typical day looks like. This can help in identifying patterns and what improvements can be made to ease challenges. 
   
• How can we improve company culture? 
  This is a great way to identify what can be done to bring employees together more often, foster relationships, and get ideas for the type of team-building programs that appeal to your employees. 
   
• What motivates you at work (and what de-motivates you)? 
  With this line of questions, you can gain insight into what inspires your employees and what keeps them engaged at the workplace. This is also an opportunity to understand what impacts their productivity (in positive and negative ways) and how it can be improved. 
   
• How can I be a better manager? 
  You want to ensure you are supporting your employees correctly and that they are given the resources and tools they need to succeed. You can also ask them what would keep them engaged and if they can enjoy a work-life balance. 

• What are your short- and long-term goals? 
  Short-term and long-term goals are essential to learn about because you want to know how your team members want to advance in their careers and what growth opportunities they seek. Consider their responses when planning for career development opportunities among your staff.  
  
• Stay interviews are a great way to improve company culture and enable your employees to express what they enjoy about working at your company. These interviews can help improve training practices and keep employees engaged and motivated at the workplace. 

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