Stay Interviews: A Powerful Engagement and Retention Tool

Job markets go up and down but one thing remains clear: Companies want and need to retain their best-performing employees. Unfortunately, most companies use the exit interview to collect reasons why their employees leave – an action that can be described by the old adage, “too little, too late.” A better strategy is to implement and leverage “stay interviews,” which help managers proactively take action ahead of the employee’s decision to leave.

A stay interview is a powerful retention tool that can give organizations a jumping-off point to build upon the positive aspects of the job. It helps to identify the key factors that engage and excite employees. As well, it also helps to pinpoint aspects that drive dissatisfaction and frustration for high-performing employees, so that those aspects can be minimized or eliminated.

• They stimulate the employee: Most employees are excited simply by the fact that the organization is concerned about their future and that their manager took the time to consult with them.
• They’re personalized: Unlike engagement surveys and many other retention tools that are focused on what excites a large number of employees, this approach is customized to a single identifiable individual and their wants.
• They’re limited to key employees: By having a “stay” discussion exclusively with your key employees who are at risk of leaving, you focus the manager’s effort and minimize the overall time that the manager must devote to retention.
• They include actions: Unlike exit interviews, which only identify problems, stay interviews also encourage the parties to identify actions that can improve the employee experience and actions that can help eliminate any major turnover triggers.
• They’re inexpensive: These informal interviews don’t require a budget. In most cases, half to one hour of a manager's and employee’s time is the only major cost factor. Adding stay interviews to your engagement strategies can help your organization retain critical employees. It’s the single best tool you can give your managers.

• Understanding the components of an effective stay interview strategy 
• Identifying your goals and commitments before engaging in the stay interview process
• How to set up and prepare for the initial stay interview
• Review of powerful, insightful questions for the stay interview
• Best practices for following through with the stay interview

If you’ve ever found yourself dumbfounded by high-performing/high-potential employees handing in letters of resignation seemingly “out of the blue,” then it’s time to get real.

Today’s high-performing employees want and need a job that resonates with their values, practical needs, opportunities to contribute, and desires for professional growth and development. If they feel disconnected from their employees, managers, and work, they start to look elsewhere to build their resumes. But it doesn’t have to be this way if you provide a way for them to communicate their impressions and insights to you.

You have a powerful tool at your fingertips to help you identify the primary factors that excite, engage, and empower your best employees. With this course, you will learn about “stay interviews” and how they can be used to retain your most desirable employees. By taking a proactive approach that engages both you and your employees, you will identify valuable information to set a path for intentional employee retention. By reducing unwanted attrition in your workforce, you’ll be able to reduce hiring/replacement costs and maximize continuity in your team.

This course is designed to give you the practical information you need to understand how to create a stay interview process that will help you retain your best and brightest employees in this competitive hiring market.

• C-level Executive leaders
• Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) 
• Chief Learning Officer
• Directors
• Project Managers
• Operations Managers and Supervisors
• Team Leaders
• Human Resources professionals – all levels

Melveen Stevenson is the CEO and founder of M.S. Elemental, LLC, a human resources and business advisory firm. As a certified HR professional with a background in accounting and finance, she helps companies to navigate the human resources “jungle” of compliance, human capital, and leadership challenges. In doing so, she empowers companies to strengthen their infrastructure from the inside out, specifically through leadership development, operations, training, employee engagement, and executive coaching.

Melveen speaks on key topics to empower companies with the latest research and best practices for increasing engagement, enhancing leadership presence, and optimizing diverse workforce groups.

Over the last 20 years, Melveen has held leadership positions in human resources operations, supply chain, and talent management at international companies in food manufacturing, medical devices, and consumer products. She has spent most of her career in California, and has expertise in the state’s complicated employment regulations.

Melveen is certified through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (SPHR).  She is also a faculty member at California State University-Dominguez Hills.