Less than a third of businesses include a stay interview in their employee lifecycle. That’s despite the fact that over half of leaving employees feel that their manager or employer could’ve done something to stop them from quitting.
This shows how little employers actually connect with their employees to find out how they feel about what’s happening in the business.
Are they happy with their manager? Do they feel connected to the business direction and mission? Is there something that could make their job easier?
These are simple questions that can solve huge problems—and save you a lot of money hiring and training new recruits.
So, how can you design a stay interview process that drives retention?
Interview someone from each department
While this can be time intensive, it’s one of the most effective ways to spot gaps in your business.
Just because the sales team is happy, that doesn’t mean finance is. Just like every business has its own culture, so too does each department. The only way you’ll fully understand this is to connect with as many people as possible in the form of a stay interview.
(Read to the end for a way to streamline this process.)
Automate invites
Organizing times for everyone to connect can be almost as time-consuming as the stay interview itself.
There are plenty of scheduling tools out there that you can use now that will automatically pull from the interviewer’s schedule, then offer those times to the interviewees. This can save hours of time responding to back-and-forth emails and reduces the likelihood that anyone gets double-booked.
Create a safe space
Employees need to feel comfortable being open and honest. Otherwise they either won’t want to be a part of the stay interview, or they won’t provide honest enough answers for them to be useful.
To create this psychological safety, you need to reassure employees anything they say is free from repercussions. And have a culture where employees believe you when you say it.
If you conduct the stay interview in person, be sure to hold it somewhere comfortable. A formal meeting room can be intimidating and change the atmosphere around the conversation compared to a café or a more informal meeting area with sofas and coffee tables.
The atmosphere sets the tone for the meeting, meaning the location you choose plays an important role in getting the best possible responses.
Allow for anonymity
Sometimes, no matter what your company culture is, employees will feel better if they can share their feedback anonymously.
Perhaps they could provide comments in a written format rather than via an in-person or video stay interview. For instance, a survey could be less stressful than a live conversation.
Some people also find it easier to articulate their thoughts this way as they don’t have to think on the spot. A flexible format allows them to provide you with more useful answers.
Create more opportunities for feedback
The more chances you give employees to give you feedback, the more useful answers you’re going to get.
Everyone thinks and expresses how they feel differently, which means while some people will be comfortable talking to you in person about how things really are in their working lives, others will not.
The more feedback opportunities you have, the more scalable the stay interview process becomes. Interviewing everyone isn’t scalable, but sending an automated employee feedback survey is.
We can help you with just that! Using Workrowd, you can set up an employee feedback survey to go out regularly, then we’ll analyze the results for you automatically.
That way, you have more time to dig into the answers and make changes based on the results.
Consider who conducts the interview
If an employee gets along with their line manager, it makes sense for them to conduct the stay interview.
But in some cases, employees simply won’t feel comfortable being that candid with the person they report to directly.
If half of employees leave because of their manager, are they really going to be honest that they dislike how the team is run to the person responsible for the team culture?
It can therefore be helpful for other people to conduct these interviews, such as HR personnel or a manager from a different department. You could even bring in someone external if budget allows. The key is to find someone objective and not directly involved in what’s happening in the team.
Ask useful questions
Make sure the questions you ask allow you to collect genuinely useful information. Things like:
- What do you enjoy about your job?
- What would make your job easier?
- How do you feel about employee recognition?
- Would you like more training opportunities? If so, what would you like to learn?
- What causes you to feel stressed or anxious about work?
- How well do you get along with your team members?
- How do you feel about your manager?
Understanding how employees feel about work and their colleagues will give you a well-rounded picture of what’s happening. This can help you spot problems early, giving you a better chance to take action before things spiral and become bigger issues.
Act on feedback
If you don’t take action based on the feedback employees provide, they won’t see the point in giving you any.
Look for patterns in what employees say, and consider ways to change things that they feel aren’t working. This is one of the key steps to improving your company culture by incorporating a stay interview.
Conclusion
A stay interview is a simple yet effective way to boost your retention rates. It can also help you spot issues before they spiral into something larger that’s harder to deal with.
Collect regular employee feedback
Another great way to see how your employees really feel is by sending regular employee engagement surveys. Putting them together can be time-consuming and tricky, but with Workrowd, you can automate it! Better yet, we can analyze the results for you on the fly, giving you more time to support your employees. Get in touch today to book your free demo.
