How We Reduced Turnover by 20% Using “Stay Interviews” (Questions & Answers Guide)

Most companies treat employee retention like an autopsy. They wait until the star employee quits, then they conduct an "Exit Interview" to find out what killed their motivation. By then, it is too late. The talent is gone, the knowledge is lost, and the cost of replacement is looming.

In 2024, our department faced a crisis. We were losing key players to competitors—not for more money, but for "better opportunities." We decided to stop doing autopsies and start doing wellness checks.

We implemented **Stay Interviews**. Within 12 months, our voluntary turnover dropped by 20%. This isn't just a meeting; it is a strategic tool. If you want to replicate our results, you need to know exactly what to ask and, more importantly, how to interpret the answers.

What is a Stay Interview?

A stay interview is a structured conversation between a manager and a high-performing employee. The goal is simple: identify what keeps them at the company and what might cause them to leave.

Unlike a performance review, this is not about their output. It is about your output as an employer. It is a reverse performance review.

Before we dive into the questions, you should know the stakes. Use our True Cost of Employee Calculator to visualize exactly how much one resignation costs your bottom line. (Hint: It’s usually 1.5x their salary).

The Psychology: Why Employees Actually Leave

Employees rarely leave because of a single bad day. They leave because of a slow erosion of trust or a lack of future vision. Stay interviews work because they validate the employee's ego ("My company cares what I think") and provide a psychological "venting" mechanism before frustration boils over into a resignation letter.

The Core Guide: Stay Interview Questions and Answers

Asking the question is easy. Decoding the answer is the hard part. Below are the top questions we used, along with a guide on how to read between the lines.

1. "When you travel to work each day, what is the one thing you look forward to most?"

The Goal: Identify their primary motivator (The Anchor).

2. "If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about your job, what would it be?"

The Goal: Uncover hidden friction points that seem "too small" to complain about formally.

3. "What talents or skills do you have that we aren't fully using?"

The Goal: Prevent boredom and "job creep" (where the job becomes too narrow).

4. "Think back to a time recently when you felt frustrated. What happened?"

The Goal: Identify the "Pebble in the Shoe."

Often, it's not the salary that drives people away—it's the broken printer, the slow VPN, or the confusing ATS software. (Speaking of software, if your team hates your hiring tools, check out our review of Manatal vs Recruitee to streamline their workflow).

The "Trust Protocol": How to Conduct the Interview

If you walk up to an employee and ask these questions out of the blue, they will panic. They will think they are being fired. You must set the stage.

• Schedule it separately: Do not tack this onto a performance review. The mindset is different.
• Send the questions in advance: Introverts need time to process. "I want to talk about your future here" can sound scary. "I want to get your feedback on how we can support you better" sounds supportive.
• The 50/50 Rule: You should listen 50% of the time, and take notes 50% of the time. If you aren't taking notes, the employee thinks you don't care.

The Trap: When Stay Interviews Backfire

The only thing worse than not asking for feedback is asking for it and doing nothing.

"If you conduct a stay interview and fail to address the issues raised, you have just accelerated the employee's departure. You have proven that you know about the problem and choose to ignore it."

The Fix: Close every interview with a "Commitment to Action." Even if the answer is "No," explain why. "I heard you want a salary increase. Budget is frozen until Q1, but let's revisit this in January. In the meantime, I can approve that training course you wanted."

Case Study Results

After implementing this with our top 20% of talent:

1. Turnover dropped 20%: We saved three senior developers who were silently frustrated with our legacy code base. We gave them a "Refactoring Sprint" to fix it, and they stayed.
2. Productivity Rose: By removing the "pebbles in the shoe" (like outdated software), work became faster.
3. Referrals Increased: Happy employees refer other happy employees.

Conclusion

Stay interviews are the highest ROI activity a manager can do. They cost $0 and take 30 minutes. Compare that to the cost of turnover (recruiter fees, lost productivity, onboarding time), and the choice is obvious.

Don't wait for the resignation letter. Ask the questions today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if an employee asks for a raise I can't give?

Be honest. Employees appreciate transparency more than false hope. "I cannot increase salary right now due to budget constraints. However, is there a non-monetary benefit (like flexible hours or remote days) that would be valuable to you?"

Should I do stay interviews with low performers?

Generally, no. Stay interviews are retention tools for people you want to keep. For low performers, use performance improvement plans (PIPs) or coaching sessions.

Can I automate this with a survey?

No. A survey is impersonal. The value of a stay interview is the face-to-face connection and the trust it builds. You cannot automate empathy.