Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss
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Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss

A Manager’s Playbook

Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
Berrett-Koehler, 2015
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8

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Recommendation

Companies invest in their employees, but that investment goes out the door when a staff member leaves. The employee’s expertise and institutional knowledge leave as well. To prevent unnecessary departures, Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans suggest holding “stay interviews” – one-on-one sessions in which managers tell employees how valuable they are to the company and ask what would keep them on the payroll. The authors, both career experts, explain what stay interviews accomplish, how to prepare for them and how they function in different cultures. getAbstract recommends this handy playbook to all managers, HR personnel, small-business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone seeking a new tool to keep employees happy at work.

Summary

The Reasons Employees Stay or Go

Managers should routinely ask their best employees this simple question: “What will keep you here?” Unfortunately, most managers don’t ask until they conduct employee exit interviews. By then, the question comes too late.

Ask your top people this pivotal question during “stay interviews.” These planned sessions, formal or informal, let you communicate how much you value your employees. Stay interviews help you find out if your staff members are happy and, if not, learn what might keep them engaged. Employees appreciate stay interviews because you begin by telling them how much they matter to your company. More than 90% of employees say their managers never tell them they are important to their firms.

A stay interview is a one-on-one conversation with employees about what they care about most on the job, and how you can adjust or coordinate their circumstances to make them happier. When you deploy stay interviews correctly, they engage staff members and increase their productivity. If people are thinking of leaving, stay interviews can dissuade them. Stay interviews help you learn what makes your employees tick and why they are...

About the Authors

Beverly Kaye is the founder of Career Systems International. Sharon Jordan-Evans is an executive coach and public speaker.

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