Stay interviews are becoming a big deal. A recent poll shows that nearly half of businesses (46%) used stay interviews in 2023, which is up from 33% in 2022. They’re not just about checking in with your employees, but rather genuinely understanding what makes them tick. They’re about building trust and showing you care about your staff members’ happiness and growth within the company.

Want to start this practice with your team? Writer Kate Heinz contributed a piece to the Built In blog that covers some best practices for conducting effective stay interviews. Keep reading this issue of PromoPro Daily, where we share her ideas along with some questions she recommends asking.

Make it a conversation. For this to happen, you first need to prioritize two-way communication. Employees need to trust their bosses, Heinz says. If your promo company prioritizes hierarchy and separation between senior leaders and employees, your stay interviews won’t be as productive.

Meet somewhere comfortable. Heinz suggests asking your team members where they’d like to meet. Maybe they’d like to have a walking meeting or visit a local coffee shop. The idea is to make your employees as comfortable as possible so they’re more open to sharing their honest feedback.

Take as long as needed. There’s no one right length of time for stay interviews. You might have a productive discussion in 20 minutes, or you may talk for an hour. Heinz says that while exit interviews typically follow a list of questions, a stay interview should be more carefully customized to each employee.

Work In These 5 Stay Interview Questions

To get the conversation started, try asking these questions:

  • What do you look forward to at work every day? Heinz says this question gets to the heart of what motives and excites employees about their role.
  • What do you dislike about work every day? Remember that the goal of a stay interview isn’t just to learn what your employees enjoy about their jobs but also to uncover any challenges they’re facing that might cause them to look elsewhere.
  • What do you think of the way employees are recognized? As a promo professional, you know there are countless ways to show gratitude with promo. This question helps you understand how comprehensive your employee recognition program is, Heinz says.
  • How would you rate our work-life balance? How could it be improved? In addition to employee recognition, Heinz says work-life balance is a huge retention factor. When companies provide their staff members with a healthy work-life balance, they’re more likely to retain their employees.
  • What does your dream job look like? Maybe employees envision stepping into a leadership role or perhaps they’d like to work in a more client-facing role. Their answer lets you know what matters most to them.

Every team member counts at your promo company. When you regularly conduct stay interviews, you can be sure you’re in tune with your employees. These conversations clue you in on what might send your staff members packing and what inspires them to stick around.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Kate Heinz is a marketing professional who covered career development, HR and tech recruiting topics for BuiltIn.com.