# Stay interview

A stay interview is a proactive conversation a manager has with a current employee, not someone leaving, to understand what's keeping them engaged and what might eventually push them to look elsewhere.

It flips the timing of an exit interview: the goal is catching a retention problem before it happens, not diagnosing it after.

**Stay interview** — A stay interview is a proactive conversation a manager has with a current employee to understand what's keeping them engaged and what might eventually push them to look elsewhere. Unlike an exit interview, it happens with someone who hasn't decided to leave, which means the feedback can still be acted on while the relationship is intact.

Managers run stay interviews periodically, often once or twice a year, with employees they specifically want to retain, asking direct questions like what makes a good day at work, what would make them consider another offer, and what they'd change if they could. The format only works if the manager actually follows up on what they hear; asking the questions and then changing nothing tends to erode trust faster than never asking at all.

## Frequently asked questions

### How is a stay interview different from a regular check-in?

A stay interview is more targeted than a general check-in. It specifically probes engagement and flight risk, with direct questions about what would make an employee consider leaving, rather than covering general project status or performance.

### Who typically conducts a stay interview?

Usually the employee's direct manager, sometimes with HR involved in designing the questions or reviewing themes across the team. A direct manager relationship tends to produce more candid answers than an HR-led conversation.

### Do stay interviews actually reduce turnover?

They can, when the feedback leads to real changes, such as adjusting workload, addressing a pay gap, or fixing a specific frustration. A stay interview that surfaces the same complaint repeatedly without action tends to backfire.

## Thinking about your next move

If a stay interview surfaced that you're ready for something new, Intervieux's job board is a place to start applying.

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