Why Stay Interviews Are a Game-Changer for Any Business

When it comes to keeping great employees, small businesses often feel like they’re in a constant battle—competing with larger companies offering flashier perks or higher salaries. But there is one simple, low-cost (or heck, no-cost in most cases), and highly effective tool can help you retain your best people and keep your business thriving. In the HR world, we like to refer to this as a “stay interview”.

You may be familiar with an ‘exit interview’, but unlike those (which come way too late to save a valuable team member), stay interviews are proactive conversations designed to uncover what keeps employees motivated—and what might drive them to leave—while they’re still part of your team.

Let’s break down why stay interviews matter, how they benefit everyone involved, and how you can easily start using them in your small business.

What Is a Stay Interview?

A stay interview is a one-on-one conversation between a manager/owner and a current employee. The goal? To understand what the employee enjoys about their role and the company, what challenges they face, and what might improve their overall work experience.

These conversations are not performance reviews. They are focused discussions meant to:

• Learn what keeps employees engaged

• Identify potential issues or frustrations before they grow

• Show that leadership values employee input

Why Stay Interviews Matter

1. Prevent Turnover Before It Starts

   You don’t have to wait for a resignation letter to find out what went wrong. Stay interviews uncover dissatisfaction or issues early—giving you the chance to fix problems before your employee walks out the door, ultimately saving the company thousands on recruitment costs, time spent training replacement staff, and lost company knowledge.

2. Boost Morale and Productivity

   When employees feel heard and valued, they’re more likely to be invested in their work and the organization. That leads to higher motivation, greater loyalty, and better overall performance. It can also help reduce problematic issues like absenteeism, internal conflict, and customer dissatisfaction.

3. Strengthen Manager-Employee Relationships

   Stay interviews create space for open, honest dialogue. They help managers become more responsive leaders and build trust with their teams.

4. Give Business Owners Clear, Actionable Insights

   These conversations provide real-time feedback about what’s working and what’s not—from onboarding and communication to workload and growth opportunities. You may not be able to fix everything that is uncovered, but having an awareness is the first step to finding a solution for improvement so your business operations can continue smoothly.

Simple Steps to Implement Stay Interviews

The beauty of stay interviews is that they’re simple, low or no-cost, and scalable—perfect for any size of team. Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Choose the Right Timing

Start by scheduling the interviews with long-tenured employees or top performers. Ideally, conduct stay interviews once or twice a year—not during performance review season to avoid confusion with evaluation. It is also occasionally recommended to schedule stay interviews after a major change has occurred, for example a long-term employee or a direct supervisor exiting the company or a new system or process is implemented within the organization.

Step 2: Keep the Setting Comfortable

Hold the conversation in a private, informal space. Make it clear this is not about discipline or criticism, but about learning and support. You can preface the conversation by letting the employee know you’d like to meet and talk about what they feel is going right at work and what might be an area or opportunity for improvement.

Step 3: Ask Thoughtful, Open-Ended Questions

Examples include:

• What do you look forward to at work each day?

• What do you enjoy most (and least) about your role or the company?

• What might tempt you to leave?

• Is there anything you need to help you perform at your best?

• What can I do more or less of as your manager?

Pro tip: Listen more than you talk—and take notes.

Step 4: Follow Up with Action

The most important part of a stay interview is what happens next. Even small improvements (like adjusting a workload, an internal process, or offering more flexible scheduling) can have a big impact. Share what you plan to do and then follow through. Ensure that communication about your follow up action is timely and transparent, especially if the action itself may take a while to complete or implement.

Final Thoughts

Stay interviews are one of the most underused but effective tools for improving retention—especially in small teams where every employee makes a big impact.

They help uncover what truly matters to your team, build stronger connections between staff and leadership, and keep your business ahead of turnover issues. Even better? They’re easy to implement with no extra budget or tech.

Ready to keep your best employees right where they are? Start with one conversation—and see where it leads.

Need help creating a stay interview template or training your managers to run them effectively? Contact Mountain HR Consulting—we help small businesses build retention strategies that actually work.