Stay interviews are one of the most underrated tools in HR’s retention toolkit. Unlike exit interviews which come too late stay interviews are proactive, personalized conversations designed to understand what keeps employees motivated and what might drive them to leave. But to be effective, they must be more than a checklist they must be intentional. The goal is to uncover why your best people stay, what challenges they face, and what could make them feel more valued and engaged.

The key lies in creating a safe, one on one environment where the employee feels heard not judged. Avoid robotic questioning and instead lean into open-ended prompts like “What part of your job energizes you most?” or “What would make your experience here better?” HR should train managers to listen without defensiveness, take notes seriously, and follow up with action not empty promises. When stay interviews lead to visible changes, employees feel invested in. When they don’t, trust erodes.

In a market where talent is mobile and loyalty is fragile, stay interviews send a powerful message: We don’t just care when you’re leaving we care while you’re here. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to turn retention into a relationship.