BMW workers in an office space
BMW workers in an office space

Stay Interview.

A stay interview is a one-on-one conversation between a manager and an employee to understand what motivates the employee and what can be done to retain them at the organization. The goal is to identify factors that may cause the employee to leave and proactively address them.

This conversation needs to be planned and private. Please prepare for the stay interview by reviewing the employee's background, performance, and any previous feedback. Inform your employee of the purpose of your conversation, schedule a formal 1-on-1 meeting or call at a convenient time for them, and share stay interview questions upfront so they have time to formulate their thoughts ahead of time. 

You can find 5 categories you should cover during the stay interview talk. You can find sample quetions for your convenience you can use to drive the conversation. Please chose the most relevant questions for this particular conversation. Don’t feel like you have to get through all of these questions during your conversation.

You should feed off your employee’s responses and take the conversation where they want it to go. While you can certainly ask follow-up questions and try to understand the “why” behind their answers, make sure you’re not dominating the conversation.

Once you ask a question, be quiet and listen – your employee should be the one doing the majority of the talking.

The associate should rate all preferences between 1 and 5 also. Take notes and submit them via this on-line questionnaire.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 = Not satisfied; 5 = Satisfied

Did you found your expectations in your role, compared to what you imagined your job and the Team will be like?

What did you plan to achieve at the time you stepped into your current role? What is still missing?

What do you want to be doing that you aren't currently doing?

1 = Not satisfied; 5 = Satisfied

What did you learn/develop during this time?

Do you feel the company is invested in your professional growth? Why or why not?

Which of your talents are you not using in your current role?

What are the most important things you would like to accomplish on short or mid term?

1 = Not appropriate; 5 = Appropriate

What do you like most about working in our Team?

What do you like least?

If you could change one thing about your team what would it be?

If you could change one thing about our company, what would it be?

1 = Not satisfied; 5 = Satisfied

How would you rate your work-life balance? Is this meeting your needs currently?

Do you feel valued at work? Why or why not?

Can you share an example of a time you felt very proud of your contribution in this company?

1 = Not satisfied; 5 = Satisfied

Do you feel your work is properly recognized? Why or why not?

What is that's preventing you from reaching your professional goals?

How can I best support you to achieve those goals?

If you selected "Yes":

Please record next steps, like the change needs, actions to implement, timeline and responsible.

Action Plan: Based on the insights gained, the manager and employee should collaborate to develop an action plan to address any concerns and keep the employee engaged and motivated.

Follow-up: The manager should follow up with the employee regularly to ensure the action plan is being implemented and to address any new concerns that may arise.

If you selected "No":

Thanks!

Page Overview: Stay Interview EN