Conducting Stay Interviews – #TheDairySignal

Want to engage and retain your employees? Consider conducting “stay interviews.” This process allows you to consult with your current employees to identify the reasons they want to continue working for YOU.  Stay interviews increase employee engagement, development, and empowerment.

We covered this topic on the PDPW Dairy  Signal show on March 31st.  You can listen to it here.

How to have a 'Stay Interview'

  • Begin by thanking the employee for their hard work and dedication to your business. Make certain they understand that you recognize and appreciate their loyalty to your company
  • Communicate that you are willing to make changes based on the information you gather from all employees as a group.
  • Share that this is meant to be an informal interview that assists the owners in understanding the reasons employees stay and why they would consider leaving.

Ask questions such as:

1. What talents or skills do you possess that we are not aware of?
2. Are we fully using your talents?
3. What are you learning here?
4. What additional skills should we be teaching you?
5. What makes for a great day at work? A bad day?
6. What was your favorite task/role/project in the past 12 months and why?
7. What was your biggest mistake/regret of the last 12 months and what did you learn from it?
8. What type of flexibility would be helpful in maintaining balance in your work and home life?
9. If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
10. If there was one tool that would make your job easier, what would it be?
11. What do you like the least about your job?
12. Do you feel there is good communication between you and your managers? Co-workers?
13. What are the top three reasons you enjoy working here?
14. What is the best part of your work experience here?
15. What is your future dream role? How can we put elements of this into your current role?
16. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
17. If you were offered another position elsewhere, what would be the reason you would leave here?
18. What keeps you motivated?
19. Do you feel you get enough recognition and feedback?
20. How do you prefer we give you recognition and praise?
21. If you could change one thing about this company, what would it be?
22. If you were the manager/owner, list 2 things you would do differently with employees?
23. Is there anything else you would like to share?

Finally, remember to listen to each employees’ answers but do not judge, react, or try to fix the issue on the spot. Just listen intently to what they tell you. This process doesn’t mean you have to agree with them. However, allowing the employee to express their thoughts builds the relationships and commitment to solutions even if their idea wasn’t directly implemented.

Ask how we can help you conduct your interviews.