Stay interviews are an effective device used by many organizations to understand why their most able employees have chosen to stay with them. It’s always a relaxed, casual discussion held between a manager and the employee, where the latter is asked a fixed set of questions.
Contrary to its name, a stay interview is not held to prevent an employee from resigning, it’s a healthy discussion between two people( a manager and the employee) with an intent to learn more about the employee, what keeps them attached to the organization, their experiences so far, and so on. This would further help both of them to have an even stronger bond.
Why should stay interviews be held?
One major plus as far as a stay interview is concerned is you would know what the employee likes about working in the organization. What keeps him/her attached to the company, their experiences right from the time they joined the company because not everybody would have the same point of view. Varied opinions would help you know what has so far worked best for the company and what more can be done for its improvement ahead.
They can be a great source of help in case the company has already been going downhill because then you can prevent further damage by talking to your employees in person. Firstly it’s of primary importance that you and your employee have an honest and healthy relationship, only then can you have a healthy working relationship. You must pay heed to what your employer has to say both positive as well as negative points. Make sure they feel heard and significant, because that would extract their best efforts in making the organization all the more successful, if you don’t take criticisms seriously when pointed out by an employee, you are depriving the company of growing further which may be done if you try and act on the minuses too.
Things you could ask an employee
- You could try and know the employee better to start with
- From there you could ask them how they like their role in the company, whether they are satisfied or not.
- If not, why is it that and if they are happy with what they have been doing, try and know what they are happy about?
- Also if they find the work environment ok.
Finally
In short, when fixing a stay interview, you need to make sure the questions are relevant so that the purpose is served.
