According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average overall turnover in 2021 rate was 57.3%, and as turnover remains elevated, organizations are looking for strategies to improve retention. An approach that can be highly valuable to this process is the stay interview.
Read on to learn more about stay interviews and how they can benefit your organization when working to reduce turnover.
What is a stay interview?
A stay interview is a conversation between a manager or supervisor and a high-performing employee that aims to uncover what they like about their role and what they would like to change. Similar to an exit interview, it focuses on how a company can improve. However, stay interviews are conducted with current employees to determine what motivates them and why they stay, so those elements of the workplace can be enhanced.
The benefits of stay interviews
These interviews may seem like an inconsequential system to introduce at first glance, but they can offer a host of benefits to your organization along the way. The main advantages a stay interview can offer your business include:
1) Building trust and employee loyalty
Introducing stay interviews to your high-performing employees is an effective way to show them they're valued and that you care about their input and feedback. This quickly promotes trust and loyalty, which is beneficial to your long-term retention. In fact, a report from TINYpulse found millennials are 22 times more likely to work for a company with a high trust culture.
2) Addressing company issues before they're unmanageable
One of the main advantages of a stay interview is uncovering any current issues in the company, as well as helping it improve. After an effective interview, employers and managers can pinpoint where there might be a need for policy changes or practices that are not serving their team members well.
3) Assessing the current state of your company culture
Along with identifying where employees are finding issues in the organization, a stay interview can help company leaders assess the overall corporate culture that's been created — through the eyes of someone who is experiencing it firsthand. This is a valuable way to understand what needs to be done in order to foster an engaging, inclusive and dynamic culture that benefits the entire organization.
4) Energizing and motivating employees
When your workers feel seen and heard, they are much more likely to work to their full potential. With the support of their company behind them, employees will be energized to create their best work for the good of the company. This is a boon to your productivity and operational efficiency in the long run.
Overall, stay interviews are an expense-free strategy both managers and employers can utilize to assess the state of their company and make improvements moving forward. As organizational leaders get a better understanding of where they succeed and what they lack, it's significantly easier to reduce turnover and keep top-tier talent around longer.
