Stay Interviews: A Low-Cost Way to Improve Employee Retention
Employee retention is critical for small businesses, and one tool that often goes overlooked is the stay interview. Unlike exit interviews, stay interviews help you understand why employees choose to stay — and what might cause them to leave — giving you the opportunity to act before turnover occurs.
Q: Our CEO asked if we should be doing stay interviews. What are they and how do we conduct them?
A stay interview is a planned conversation with a current employee to explore:
Why they stay at your organization
What might cause them to leave
How you can support them to do their best work
These conversations are low-cost, actionable, and can significantly improve employee engagement — if employees feel safe providing honest feedback.
1. Schedule Interviews in Advance
Let employees know why you are interviewing them.
Provide context so they understand the purpose is to listen, not evaluate.
2. Build Trust
Reassure employees that answers will not affect performance reviews.
Share examples of changes previously made based on employee feedback.
3. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Examples:
“What keeps you here?”
“What would make your job easier?”
“What could cause you to look elsewhere?”
4. Communicate How Feedback Will Be Used
Share themes with leadership, but keep individual responses anonymous.
Clarify which feedback may not result in changes, if applicable.
5. Summarize and Follow Up
Close by summarizing what you heard and allow clarifications.
Follow up with employees to highlight changes implemented or explain why certain changes couldn’t be made. Transparency is key.
Stay interviews are a proactive, low-cost way to improve employee retention and engagement. When conducted thoughtfully, they provide insights that help small businesses retain talent and improve workplace culture.
For additional guidance on retention strategies, see:
For expert help implementing stay interviews and other retention strategies, contact Consult HR Services.