Unlike an exit interview, which helps companies to determine the factors that caused employees to leave, stay interviews attempt to stop turnover in its tracks. A stay interview assesses the degree of engagement and satisfaction in your company. It highlights issues early and builds trust with employees to reduce the need to perform exit interviews at all. 

Here's why stay interviews are more impactful than engagement surveys or exit interviews.  

What is A Stay Interview?

Stay interviews are conversations with employees that provide insights into their day-to-day experiences with your company. They promote employee wellbeing and help organisations to uncover the issues that might be holding their employees back. Whether you're speaking to a construction leader, an account manager, or a digital automation executive, stay interviews give a voice to your professional team. This helps companies to learn where they can improve their practices to retain valued staff. Stay interviews are a positive discussion with your staff. They give you the chance to eliminate turnover problems and respond to common concerns.   

Why You Should Use Stay Interviews

While a professional recruitment agency can make hiring the right candidate easier, retaining that talent is still hard.

A stay interview shows your hires that you care about their satisfaction. Studies like the Human Capital Trends report for 2018 show that your employees want more than just a salary. They want evidence that their employers value and appreciate them.

Stay interviews highlight turnover triggers and allow employers to respond to issues before they get out of control. With them, you can fix issues like:

·         Low or unequal remuneration

·         Problems with lack of development

·         An inconsistent company culture

If you use stay interviews to fix issues that employees have with your organisation, this can lead to a stronger employer brand. In other words, you'll not only retain your key hires but attract new talent too.

How to Conduct Effective Stay Interviews

The best stay interviews require one-on-one interactions in a confidential and safe environment. The aim is to get detailed insights into how your team member feels about your employer brand and your company. To accomplish this, you need to ask deep questions and search for honest answers.

For instance:

·         What do you enjoy about your role?

·         What would you change about the way we work with clients / manage projects?

·         How would you describe your team and how well they work together?

·         How could the company support teams to collaborate even more?

During the interview, make it clear that you value your employees' feedback and Very importantly, what the company plan to do with the feedback.

Questions to Ask in a Stay Interview

The questions you ask in your stay interviews will depend on various factors, including the employee you're speaking to, and the information you want to gather.

Some queries to consider include:

·         What keeps you working here?

·         What does a good day at work look like?

·         On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you here?

·         How can we get you to a 10?

·         What might cause you to leave the company?

·         What would you change about company culture?

·         What motivates and demotivates you at work?

 

Remember, after conducting your interviews, it's important to show your people that you're taking their input seriously and that their feedback will be treated confidentially. After you begin conducting your stay interviews, make sure to track employee turnover. With luck, you will be able to boost retention rates, hold onto star performers, and even attract new members to your team.

 

About Change Recruitment

Change is a specialist recruitment consultancy based in Scotland.  We have a strong reputation for service delivery. With a global reach, we work across the UK, EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pac, locating exceptional talent for some of the world’s leading organisations.  With over 45 years in the recruitment industry, our areas of expertise include; Accountancy and Finance; Investment Management and Asset Servicing; Risk and Compliance; IT, Digital and Business Change; Marketing; Business Services and Construction and Building Services. To get in contact with our friendly team. Email us here or call Glasgow ++44(041) 226 3101 or Edinburgh +44(0131)225 7744.