Stay Interview Questions: 25 Questions to Keep Your Best People

Free Manager Tools › Retention

A stay interview is a private conversation with someone you want to keep, to find out what keeps them in the job and what might make them leave. It is the proactive twin of the exit interview: you get the same insight, but while you can still act on it.

Before you start: trust comes first

A stay interview only works if people believe they can be honest without it being held against them. If your team doesn't yet trust you, the answers will be polite and useless. Build that foundation first with regular one-on-ones and by acting on what people tell you.

• Keep it separate from pay reviews. Mixing it with salary or performance conversations turns it into a negotiation.
• Do it privately. Usually in a 1:1, never in a group.
• Prioritise the people you would hate to lose. Start with your top performers and anyone in a hard-to-fill role.
• Tell them why. "I want to make sure this stays a place you want to work" is enough.

25 stay interview questions

Pick five or six. The best stay interviews feel like a conversation, not a questionnaire.

What keeps them here

1. What do you enjoy most about your role right now?
2. What makes you look forward to coming to work?
3. What keeps you working here?
4. When did you last have a really good day at work? What made it good?
5. What do you value most about the team?

What frustrates them

6. What's the most frustrating part of your job?
7. If you could change one thing about your role tomorrow, what would it be?
8. What slows you down or gets in your way?
9. Is there anything we tolerate here that bothers you?
10. Have you ever thought about leaving? What triggered it?

Growth

11. What would you love to learn that would help you grow?
12. Do you feel you are using your strengths? Where aren't you?
13. Where do you want to be in two or three years?
14. What kind of work would you like more of, and less of?
15. Is there a project or responsibility you'd love to take on?

Their manager (you)

16. What could I do more of to support you?
17. What should I stop doing?
18. How do you like to be recognised for good work?
19. Do you get enough feedback from me? Too much?
20. Do you feel you can disagree with me openly?

The risk question

21. What's missing in our team or your role that might lead you to look elsewhere?
22. If a recruiter called tomorrow, what would make you take the call?
23. What would make you even more satisfied at work?
24. What would make you leave?
25. Is there anything I haven't asked that I should have?

How to run a stay interview

1. Appreciate first. Start by telling them specifically what they contribute. It frames the conversation as investment, not suspicion.
2. Ask open questions. Use the list above. Avoid yes/no questions such as "Are you happy here?"
3. Listen actively. Don't explain why something is the way it is. Paraphrase, then ask for an example.
4. Discuss improvements together. Ask what they would do about the problem they raised. They often have the answer.
5. Agree actions and timelines. One or two concrete actions with dates, and write them down.
6. Follow up. Report back on what you did, even if the answer is "I couldn't change that, and here's why." Following through is what makes the next stay interview honest.

How often to run them

Quarterly or twice a year works for most teams. They pair well with a Team Health Check: the health check shows team-wide issues, and stay interviews show what each person needs.

Common mistakes

• Asking and then doing nothing. This is worse than not asking at all.
• Getting defensive. The moment you justify, people stop telling you things.
• Promising what you can't deliver. Say "I'll find out" rather than "I'll sort it" if pay or promotions aren't in your control.
• Only doing it when someone seems unhappy. By then it is often too late. Do it with everyone you want to keep.

Tools that work well with this one

• Exit interview questionsLearn from the people who do leave.
• One-on-one meeting templateThe regular conversation that builds the trust stay interviews need.
• Team Health CheckA quick red, amber, green check on how the team is really doing.
• My User ManualHelp your team understand how each person works best.

FAQs

What is a stay interview?

A structured one-to-one conversation with a current employee about what keeps them in their job and what might make them leave. The aim is to fix problems before they turn into resignations.

How is a stay interview different from an exit interview?

Exit interviews happen after someone has resigned, so you learn why they left but can't change the outcome. Stay interviews happen while they are still with you, so you can act on what you hear.

Who should conduct a stay interview?

Usually the direct manager, because the manager controls most of what makes people stay. It only works if there is already some trust in that relationship.

How often should you do stay interviews?

Once or twice a year for each person, kept separate from pay and performance reviews.

What if someone says they are thinking of leaving?

Thank them for being honest, ask what would change their mind, and agree what you can realistically do. Don't panic or make promises you can't keep. Honesty here is a sign the conversation is working.