5 Reasons Why Stay Interviews Are Can’t-Miss Employee Engagement & Retention Solutions

Stay Interviews help with employee engagement and retention, here are the top 5 reasons why:

1. Stay Interviews slash turnover costs. 

How much? Our clients have improved retention by up to 70% in the first six months. Dollar savings are massive, millions of dollars, and those calculations omit non-measurable improvements like improved customer service and experienced employees producing more and better work. In fact, no dollar-improvement calculation will collect every dollar saved because our employees are our businesses…and retaining more of them enriches every part of our organizations.

“If you reduce your turnover by one person per year, you’ve more than paid for the Certified Stay Interview Expert program.”

– LÂLE GERGER, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, HEALTHSOUTH REHABILITATION HOSPITAL OF OCALA

2. Stay Interviews improve engagement. 

Our clients have proven this, and there is Gallup data that is more convincing. Gallup found a strong, direct, cannot-be-denied link between employees’ levels of commitment and their closeness to their direct supervisors. This data shines light on the most mis-understood piece of employee engagement and retention…that the wide assortment of one-size-fits-all programs that grow from employee surveys don’t really matter. Think recognition events, meetings to broaden communications, career days, all events with food…that have a 24-hour shelf life or less because employees must leave these events and return to their jobs. And “jobs” is where turnover or retention happen.

3. Stay Interviews improve new-hire turnover and engagement. 

When these employees return to their jobs, they face the real driver of their own commitment which is their first-line supervisor. On one hand, the list of reasons why employees stay or leave…or engage or disengage…is unlimited. But the uncomfortable fact for most companies is the #1 reason employees stay or engage is how much they trust their boss. No one program can fix that, and constant boss turnover from the CEO on down shakes the foundations of retention and engagement you are trying to build.

“Using the methods from the Stay Interview Managers program, we instituted a process of doing a Stay Interview within the first 30 days of hire, and then another within 30 days of when we were most likely to lose an employee. Stay Interviews have significantly helped with first year turnover.”

– BROOKE ROGERS, VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBER CALL CENTER, COASTAL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

4. Stay Interviews improve high-performer retention. 

Most of us continue to conduct regular employee engagement surveys despite their major flaws. One of those flaws is they tell you nothing about your top performers, the ones who do four times the work of your other employees. High performers’ responses are mixed in with responses from low performers, then averaged to develop the reports you see. Stay Interviews, on the other hand, lead each supervisor to open discussions with your high-performing employees, those employees you need to keep the most.

5. Stay Interviews solve millennial turnover and engagement. 

Millennials’ average stay is just 2 years…and they are the least engaged of the five generations in our workforce. All the speculation about why is…well…speculation. You may have read a story that says “millennials want coaches instead of bosses” and other trite statements that provide no solutions. But worse, some have bought into the assumption that all people in this age group are the same.  The fact is these people are individuals and Stay Interviews lead us to learning what they really want and need, versus what some article or blog says is true.

If you want to improve employee retention and engagement including retention of new hires, high-performing employees, and millennials, then enroll in the Finnegan Institute’s Stay Interview Courses.

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Our courses bring a proven approach with engaging online training to improving employee retention and engagement.