Performance reviews and exit interviews have long been used to gather insights from employees. They are held year by year, without fail, that employees sometimes become indifferent toward them. While they’ve proved to be beneficial, these fixed methods might not be the optimal solutions for the current business landscape.
Nowadays, performance reviews and exit interviews seem to have lost favor with both employees and managers alike. Some critics have deemed them “pointless,” and for good reason: they’re too passive to get vital feedback and enforce change in the workplace. By the time issues are brought to light, your employees might already have one foot out the door.
If these methods are outdated, how exactly do we get information without overstepping boundaries? In this article, we discuss stay interviews and why they might be today’s best approach to staying in the know.
Stay interviews allow for real-time discussions
Stay interviews are also called pulse interviews. As the name implies, these mini, informal interviews are usually done to get a pulse on the current workplace dynamics and people’s sentiments. While exit interviews and performance evaluations work in the same way, they’re too late to make effective change. By the time you’re made aware of it, that pulse? Flatline.
This is what stay interviews address. They allow for real-time discussions of important business or personal matters that might affect your daily operations. With immediate knowledge, you, along with your employees, get to shift to problem-solving for faster resolution of any concerns — no more waiting until the end of the year or, worse, an employee’s last working day.
Let’s face it: with packed schedules, leaders don’t have the luxury of time to know the status quo at all times. But these short, casual conversations give you a quicker reality check. More importantly, you get to plan ahead — and better — with more insight.
Stay interviews empower employees to have a voice
Stay interviews don’t just benefit managers. They are also helpful for employees — maybe much more.
Studies have noted that employees often refuse to speak up because of certain “inhibitors,” such as fear of repercussions, learned helplessness, or a lack of trust. Formal settings like scheduled evaluations and interviews do little to overcome these too, as the power distance between manager and employee remains evident because of how they’re structured. What worked better? Open feedback mechanisms.
Employees work the field on the daily, and they have a closer proximity to everything happening in the office. As such, they can offer a more reliable, firsthand perspective when it comes to the work environment and improvements needed by the company. In the same way, whatever is going on with them — physically, mentally, and so on — affects your business.
Asking how they are and listening to what they have to say are simple yet significantly impactful acts. Let them have the floor, and you’d be surprised at how much you don’t know. By allowing them to share their concerns and feedback, you make them feel valued and respected. With this small action, you get to boost their morale, which could potentially improve performance, offering security for both you and them.
Stay interviews increase trust in leadership
A quick 30-minute conversation can positively impact your leadership. By reaching out, you show that you’re someone they can rely on, and that builds trust. When done consistently, you get something even more priceless: loyalty.
Engaging in meaningful discussions about work or even personal life shows that you care. It reduces the distance between you and your staff. With this act of support and recognition, you offer employees security not just emotionally but also in your capacity.
This trust, combined with genuine support, displays leadership that goes beyond the stats. It is one where people are at the core of the business, not treated as disposable machines.
Stay interviews enable better management
Stay interviews may be more informal than regular employee review methods, but they impact the company more holistically. Employees with managers who actively gather feedback are often better performers. Some studies also found reduced turnover rates in workplaces where one-on-ones or routine check-ins were conducted.
Offices that have regular work and personal life check-ins see lower burnout among staff. It also creates for a more functional team, as employees and leaders become more transparent and engaged with the work.
At my company, OysterLink, we make sure to have one-on-one sessions with our team members not just to catch up on task progress but, more notably, to check in on everyone beyond work. Based on what our staff have shared, we’ve developed wellness programs and improved office regulations to enhance the workplace. Done right, these stay interviews offer more than great insights. They enable more efficient management.
Beyond conversations
Overall, stay interviews make for better leaders and better employees. But while it’s easy to chat with your teams, what will evidently make them stay is if they see real progress.
As a leader, it is your job to do more than just listen. You have the responsibility to keep things in check.
So, the next time you conduct a stay interview, make sure to follow through and implement concrete actions. With real change comes safety, and you get to work with the best employees for many years to come.
