The stay interview is the conversation that stops turnover before it starts. The exit interview is too late — by the time you sit across from a departing employee, the decision has already been made, often weeks or months before the resignation letter. The stay interview asks the same questions while the person is still engaged.
According to the 2026 State of People Strategy report, three of the top five reasons employees quit are non-financial: lack of belonging, limited growth opportunities, and work that does not feel meaningful. Salary increases can buy you six months; fixing the underlying reasons retains people for years.
What is a stay interview
A stay interview is a structured one-on-one conversation between a manager and an employee, conducted not after a resignation but proactively — typically once or twice a year. The goal is to understand what keeps the person engaged and what risks eroding that engagement.
Five questions that make it work
- What do you look forward to when you come to work?
- What keeps you here?
- What, if changed, would make you consider leaving?
- What would your ideal role look like in two years?
- Is there anything I can do differently as your manager?
What to do with the answers
The stay interview only works if the answers lead to action. Document the conversation, identify patterns across the team, and follow up within 30 days. Employees who see their feedback acted on are significantly less likely to start looking elsewhere.
Replacing an employee costs between 50% and 200% of their annual salary — a figure that accounts for recruitment, onboarding, lost productivity, and institutional knowledge. A one-hour conversation costs nothing.
The stay interview is not a magic fix. It only works if the feedback leads to real action. Employees who share concerns and see nothing change will disengage faster than those who were never asked. Make the follow-through visible: communicate what you heard and what you are doing about it.
