HR professionals will be well acquainted with exit interviews – our last opportunity to understand why an employee wanted to leave, so we can reflect on whether we could have done better, or if there are changes we can make to improve employee retention. However, fewer will be familiar with the ‘stay interview’, a conversation aimed at uncovering what motivates people, why they stay with the organisation and, crucially, what might drive them away.
Read more: Stay interviews: how to prevent internal talent from flying the coop
Done well, stay interviews are an excellent tool, but they remain underused. And, as a weak job market has spurred many organisations to scale back on hiring, retaining existing talent has become critical.
Instead of waiting for exit interviews to understand why people leave, which can be a significant time investment, HR teams should instead spend some of that time learning what it takes to keep key talent. When conducted well, stay interviews are an early-warning system for dissatisfaction and a tool for building trust.
Stay interviews can help to reframe how we think about engagement and loyalty by understanding the people, perks, projects or other dynamics that are keeping workers engaged while they are still on board. Every HR and business leader knows that retaining talent is cheaper than replacing it. Getting ahead of the factors motivating people to leave can help address those push factors early.
Ask the right questions of the right people
Speak to a wide range of people across different teams and seniority levels. There will be issues that some face that others don’t; widening your pool will help capture those nuances. Aim for a mix of ‘lifers’ and new joiners.
You’ll likely be interested in your key talent as a starting point, so leverage your latest performance data to understand who those high performers and high potentials are. Begin your research with them.
Stay interviews shouldn’t feel like a performance review. They must instead be framed as a useful feedback opportunity, a way for the business to better understand how they’re feeling and what they love about their roles.
Questions might include:
• What do you look forward to when you come to work each day? This surfaces intrinsic motivation and emotional connection.
• What parts of your job do you enjoy the most, and the least? This helps identify strengths, engagement drivers, and potential pain points.
• When was the last time you felt especially proud to be part of this team? What happened? This uncovers culture wins and what people emotionally connect with.
• Is there anything you feel gets in the way of doing your best work? This focuses on removing barriers and improving productivity or satisfaction.
• How have you grown here in the last year, and what kinds of growth would you like to see next? Connects career development and retention.
• What might tempt you to leave this role or company? An open-ended way to gently probe risks, without being confrontational.
Follow through
One of the biggest pitfalls when engaging employees is asking for honest feedback, and then doing nothing with it. This not only erodes trust, it can make employees less likely to speak up in future.
Even if you can’t grant every wish, show that you listened and took steps to address concerns. For the factors you can address, you’ll feel confident your work is being rooted in input from the people you’re looking to help.
Waiting until an exit interview to reflect on employees’ experiences with the business is too late. Real results will come from addressing problem areas as early as possible, leading to better retention, happier employees and a healthier business.
Alice Burks is director of people success for HR software provider, Deel
This article was published in the May/June 2025 edition of HR magazine.
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