We are in a very competitive hiring environment and retaining knowledgeable, trained employees is more important than ever! One approach we are recommending to our clients to keep their valued employees is conducting 1:1 Stay Interviews with each employee. Touching base using this format with your employees at least twice a year is recommended, and here are the 5 Most Effective Stay Interview Questions to ask.
- When you arrive at work each day, what things do you look forward to?
- What are you learning here?
- Why do you stay here?
- When was the last time you thought about leaving our team? What prompted it?
- What can I do to make your work experience better for you?
Based on feedback from leaders who have used these questions and probed the responses, the three most valuable questions are 3, 4 and 5; they are direct, open-ended, and full of potential learning.
To learn more about asking your employees if they are happy at work, check out this recent Harvard Business Review article: How to Ask Whether an Employee Is Happy at Work by Christopher Littlefield, and here is the link to read the short descriptions for the 5 Most Effective Stay Interview Questions.