Form questions
Stay interview questions to ask before someone resigns
Use 8 to 12 in a relaxed 30 minute conversation. Never skip what keeps the person here, what would tempt them to leave, and the one thing the manager could change. Those three turn a friendly chat into actions, and the answers are far more useful now than in an exit interview.
Stay interview questions ask current employees what keeps them, what might tempt them away and what one change would make them more likely to stay, while there is still time to act. These twenty questions are written as a manager's script, with the answers captured in a form so themes can be tracked across a team.
The questions
Opening
Employee and roleShort text
Filled in by the manager.
What do you look forward to when you come to work?Long text
An easy opener that also shows what to protect.
What keeps you working here?Long text
The core question. Probe for specifics, not general praise.
The work
Which parts of your job do you enjoy most?Long text
Which parts would you happily give away?Long text
How manageable is your workload right now?Single choice
Too light, about right, heavy but manageable, too heavy.
Do you have what you need to do your job well?Single choice
Growth and recognition
Where would you like to be in two years?Long text
How well are you using your strengths in this role?Single choice
What would you like to learn next?Short text
Do you feel your work is recognised?Single choice
How would you like to be recognised?Multiple choice
Public thanks, private thanks, new responsibility, development, pay review.
Risks
Have you thought about leaving in the last six months?Single choice
Ask gently and make clear there is no penalty for an honest answer.
What might tempt you to leave?Long text
If you left, what would be the main reason?Single choice
Manager and next steps
What could I do more of, or less of, to support you?Long text
How flexible does your working arrangement feel?Single choice
What is one change that would make you more likely to stay?Long text
Manager: agreed actions, owner and dateTable
A table of action, owner and due date, as in the linked one on one form.
Manager: follow up dateDate
Which questions to make required
None are required. A stay interview is a conversation, and the manager records what was discussed rather than working through a checklist. The questions marked core in the notes are the ones every stay interview should cover, but making them required would push managers to fill fields instead of listening. The linked one on one form requires only the date, names and the next meeting.
The form built from these questions
A static copy of the finished form, from its own example page.
Three ways to change this bank
For a high performer the business cannot afford to lose, add a question on what a promotion or a stretch project would look like to them. For a new starter at six months, add whether the job matches what they were told when hired. For a team with high turnover, run stay interviews with everyone in the same month, then compare the risks and reasons across the team to find shared causes, such as workload or rostering, that one conversation alone would miss.
Questions people ask
What is a stay interview?
A one to one conversation with a current employee about what keeps them, what might make them leave and what would improve their work. Unlike an exit interview, it happens while there is still time to act. It works best as a relaxed conversation rather than a performance review.
How is a stay interview different from an exit interview?
An exit interview learns why someone left, after the decision is made. A stay interview asks the same questions earlier, when the manager can still change something. Many organisations use both and compare the reasons that come up, which shows whether the risks named in stay interviews are the ones that later cause people to leave.
Who should run a stay interview?
Usually the employee's direct manager, since they can act on most of what is raised. If trust is low, a skip level manager or someone from HR can run it. Either way, explain the purpose beforehand so the employee does not think something is wrong.
How often should stay interviews happen?
Once or twice a year for each employee is common, and after big changes such as a restructure. They should not replace regular one on ones. A stay interview takes a wider view of the person's future at the organisation.
What should happen after a stay interview?
Agree one or two actions with owners and dates, record them, and follow up. Nothing kills trust faster than asking what would help and then doing nothing. The actions table and follow up date in this bank are there for that reason.
Should stay interview answers be shared?
Treat them as confidential between the employee and the manager, with themes shared with HR without names. Pay and personal matters in particular should stay private. Tell the employee at the start what will be shared and with whom, and keep to it.
Can stay interview questions be sent as a survey?
They can, but they work best face to face, where the manager can probe and show they are listening. A form like this one is for the manager to record the conversation. An anonymous engagement survey is the better tool for asking the whole organisation at once.
What if an employee says they are thinking of leaving?
Thank them for being honest, ask what is behind it and what would change their mind, and avoid reacting defensively. Some reasons can be fixed and some cannot. The worst response is to treat honesty as disloyalty, which ends the conversation for good.
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On writing the questions themselves, read How to run an exit interview survey. For everything the builder can do, see the form maker. Step by step: Create a form from scratch with AI, then View, export and manage your responses.
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