Using Stay Interviews To Improve Employee Retention & Engagement

There is a strong business case for retaining your talent because:
Turnover is rampant

• Most resignations ever in the U.S. in April 2021
• 4% unemployment rate - 2.2% for college grads
• 63% of employees say it is  likely they can find a job as good as the one they have
• 51% of employees & 60% of millennials are considering new employment opportunities
• The average tenure for employees in their 20s is less than 18 months

Turnover is expensive

• 16% of salary for jobs under $30,000 - replacing a $ 10-hour employee costs $3,328
• 20% of salary for $30-50,000 jobs - replacing a $40,000 employee costs $8,000
• Up to 213% of salary for management positions; replacing a $100,000 employee can cost $200,000

And your most talented employees:

• Are more likely to be recruited with more opportunities available to them
• Are the most expensive to replace
• May take top performers and/or customers with them

Managers account for 70% of the variance in  employee engagement & retention with:

• 65% of employees leaving their boss – not their job
• Because of poor managers, productive employees leave organizations even when satisfied with the pay & perks
• The prism through which employees see their organization is their view of their manager
• Managers are the best resource for improving retention & engagement

The most important thing a manager can do is build trust with his/her direct reports. Employees who trust their managers stay & give their best. And stay interviews build trust because they:

• Re-recruit talent by understanding why employees stay or might leave
• Make employees feel valued while improving engagement, productivity & retention
• Reinforce good relationships between managers & employees, forge new ones & help repair those that are strained
• Identify employees’ needs & how those needs can best be met creating better employee experiences
• Prevent exit interviews.

The Objectives of Stay Interviews 
What Stay Interviews Are
What Stay Interviews Are Not
Steps in Initiating a Stay Interview Program 
Conducting Stay Interviews

• Frequency & length
• Techniques & skills
• Core stay interview questions
• Sample potential issues & related probes of employees
• Closing a stay interview

Following Through on Your Stay Interviews

• Components of a stay interview action plan
• Stay interview cautions
• The three-step process for retaining employees.

Anyone with leadership, management, or supervisory responsibility. 

Pete Tosh is the Founder of The Focus Group, a management consulting and training firm that assists organizations in sustaining profitable growth through four core disciplines:

• Implementing Strategic HR Initiatives
• Maximizing Leadership Effectiveness
• Strategic Planning
• Enhancing Customer Loyalty

The Focus Group has provided these consulting and training services to manufacturing and service organizations across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. Pete has worked closely with the leadership teams of organizations such as Exxon, Brinks, EMC, State Farm, Marriott, N.C.I. YKK and Freddie Mac

Pete holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from Emory and Henry University and Masters degrees in both Business Administration and Industrial Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Pete also co-authors Leading Your Organization to the Next Level: the Core Disciplines of Sustained Profitable Growth.