When a company loses a high-performing employee, it often disrupts teams, affects morale, and adds significant cost. According to Gallup, the cost of replacing an employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary, depending on their role and experience. For high-level or specialized employees, that number can climb even higher, up to 400% in some estimates.

Here’s the good news: many resignations are preventable with the right conversations at the right time. Stay interviews, unlike exit interviews, are conversations that help leaders understand what motivates top talent, and what might drive them to leave.

Why Stay Interviews Work

Stay interviews give high-performing employees a space to speak openly about what’s working, what’s not, and what they need to continue producing their best work. These one-on-one discussions help organizations:

• Uncover retention risks early
• Reinforce what employees value most about their roles
• Build trust through open dialogue
• Turn feedback into action plans
• Thank and recognize employees for their contributions  

They’re simple, low-cost and have a great impact. Most importantly, they create a culture where employees feel heard long before they’ve made the decision to walk out the door.

Benefits for Employers and Employees

Stay interviews offer more than just insights, they create tangible wins for both sides of the equation.

For employers, these conversations reveal simple fixes that can have a big impact. For example, your best project manager may share that they're drowning in administrative tasks that could easily be reassigned. These problems aren’t expensive to solve, but without stay interviews, you may never know they exist.

For employees, stay interviews signal that their voice matters before they walk out the door. It makes them feel valued, heard and understood.

The real-world value of stay interviews becomes clear in several ways, as they can:

• Demonstrate that leadership values employee input - When a marketing coordinator mentions wanting more creative projects and suddenly finds herself leading the next campaign, that sends a strong, positive message to the entire team.
• Strengthen manager-employee relationships - Regular check-ins build trust and make difficult conversations easier when they come up.
• Boost engagement by identifying new opportunities for growth - You might discover your accountant has been wanting to learn data analysis, so you open cross-training opportunities that benefit everyone.
• Prevent burnout or frustration - Catching workload issues or role misalignment early means you can make adjustments before top employees start job hunting.

What Should You Ask in a Stay Interview?

These interviews should feel natural and conversational. It’s recommended that you come prepared with a few open-ended questions to help guide the dialogue. Some examples that could be considered include:

• What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?
• What keeps you engaged and motivated in your current role?
• Are there aspects of your job you wish you could spend more time on? What do you enjoy about our culture? Are there things you would improve?
• When was the last time you felt especially proud of your work?
• Is there anything that might make you consider leaving within the next year?

These interviews focus on listening and building trust so that your organization can retain top talent and make all employees feel valued.

Follow-Through Makes all the Difference

The impact of a stay interview comes after the conversation. Without follow-through, even the best discussion can feel performative. Failing to follow up with employees and take appropriate action can undermine the trust you've worked hard to build. That’s why it’s important that you:

• Summarize key takeaways from the conversation
• Identify realistic next steps or improvements
• Keep the dialogue going with periodic check-ins

Retention strategies don’t have to be complicated, but they do have to be intentional. A few tweaks can go a long way in making employees feel seen, valued, and supported.

Lutz Talent Can Help You Build a Retention Focused Culture

At Lutz, we understand the human side of business. Our Outsourced HR and HR Consulting services help organizations implement practical, people-first solutions that align with their business goals. Whether you’re looking to reduce turnover, develop managers, or improve workplace culture, we’re here to help. Contact us with questions.