‘Stay Interviews’ - Are They Really Necessary?

IT CAN be demoralising as a leader when great staff leave.

Indeed, even the most hardened of managers may often wish things had worked out differently.

Of course, most organisations have exit interviews for departing staff.

However, there is a new trend emerging in the workplace.

‘Stay interviews’ can help give employers the opportunity to change things for the better by offering their employees some good reasons to stay.

And when done correctly, stay interviews can even turn around an employee’s viewpoint on their job - by allowing them to speak candidly, for example, or open up about their personal career goals.

As management expert Mandy Gilbert explains in a recent Inc.com article, stay interviews can also provide valuable opportunities for employees to voice any concerns about their job before they become disenchanted and start applying for new positions.

Stay interviews can be just as important for new hires as they are for long-term, existing employees - and especially if a new employee is finding the going tough and thinking about ‘pulling the plug’ early on.

To help retain staff and build a stronger working environment, Ms Gilbert recommends leaders follow these five guidelines in stay interviews:

1. Schedule dates well in advance

Managers should allow their employees plenty of time to think about their concerns, and what they would like to discuss. For new hires, Gilbert recommends scheduling three to four meetings a year - and at least two per year for existing employees. This gives both the leaders and their staff plenty of time to prepare

2. Be impartial and non-judgmental

As a leader, at stay interviews it is important to leave your judgements at the door, and to always ensure the employee realises this is not a performance review. A stay interview is very different, as it gives your staff the opportunity to offer genuine, honest feedback, and to express their feelings candidly

3. Be open and transparent

Remember that in a stay interview, nothing is off-limits. Thus, if an employee wants to discuss anything - from salary issues to their personal life - you need to be prepared. Of course, if a question is too difficult to answer immediately it pays to give yourself more time to consider it. But whatever your answer, it is important to always give a full and honest explanation

4. Let the employee lead

Because a stay interview is very different to a performance review, it is usually best for managers to spend most of the time listening. This will enable you to provide better solutions - as you will learn about your employee’s needs, and how best to address them, more quickly. Having prepared questions is of course good, but really listening to the employee is best

5. Always follow up

Stay interviews only work if the manager is prepared to follow up on what has been discussed both openly, and in a fashion that engenders trust. This should include regular sharing of updates on progress with the employee. Keeping the employee in the loop shows you are genuine about what you are doing and that the outcomes really matter. And always set up a follow up meeting with your team to see if the changes being implemented are having the desired effect.

Finally, as long as the stay interviews are executed correctly, you should not only nip staff dissatisfaction in the bud - but also ensure a happier, more productive and efficient team.