Stay Interviews

So, here at Kudos we thought we’d try something a little different about our semi-annual performance reviews.

We decided to try out the concept of stay interviews. Are you familiar? Stay interviews, as opposed to exit interviews (which I’m sure you’ve all heard of) aim to engage and retain your personnel by getting their thoughts, ideas and opinions while they are still employees, rather than when they’re on their way out. It’s a chance to engage in two-way conversation and feedback about the work they’re doing for you and the environment, culture and tasks of their everyday life at your company.

Typical Stay Interview questions could include:

• If you were offered a similar position at another company, would you choose to stay at [your company’s name]?
• Would you recommend a friend to work here?
• What do you like best/least about your work?
• What would you like to be doing that you’re not?
• What would make your job more satisfying or rewarding?
• Have you been recognized for your work in the last seven days?
• Are you satisfied with the type and level of recognition you receive?

In essence, stay interviews are a chance for you to gauge how engaged your employees are, and to hear directly from them on what’s working, what’s not, and any recommendations they have.

So, how did we do?  We are happy to report that:

• 100% of our employees would choose to stay at Kudos if they received a similar offer.
• 100% of our employees feel the purpose of Kudos makes them feel that their job is important.
• 100% of our employees feel there is open and honest communication between coworkers and that they can voice opinions openly.

To succeed, make sure you set aside enough time to have a thorough conversation with the employee - I suggest at least an hour. Make sure you have a private location to hold the interview, so employees feel comfortable to share their thoughts. Have set, standard questions prepared and send the questions to employees ahead of time so they have a chance to think about their responses, but feel free to let the conversation flow naturally and probe where necessary. Lastly, take notes to refer back to the year-to-year and to ensure that goals are set and achieved, and the changes employees would like to see are made.

If you’d like to learn more about stay interviews, there are a number of great resources online or feel free to drop us a line at hr@kudosnow.com, we’d be happy to help out!

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