'Stay Interviews': What They Are, Best Practices, 13 Example Questions

Contrary to popular belief, a "stay interview" isn’t a one-on-one conversation where you attempt to convince a departing employee to stay. Rather, a stay interview is an in-person meeting with a long-term, high-performing employee in which you attempt to uncover the parts of their role and your company that keep them coming back every day. Moreover, a stay interview serves to uncover what might make a great employee move on and establishes trust between managers and their direct reports.

“A stay interview gives you the chance to avoid recurring problems; exit interviews offer the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.”

There's one caveat to stay interviews and it has to do with your company culture. In order for stay interviews to be productive and yield honest feedback, employees need to trust management. If your type of organizational culture prioritizes hierarchy and separation between senior leadership and employees, face-to-