Stay Interview Questions: 30 Examples

TL;DR: These 30 stay interview questions help a manager understand why a current employee stays, what would make the role stronger, and what warning signs deserve action now.

What a stay interview is and when to run one

A stay interview is a manager-led conversation about what is working, what is not, and what would make the employee more likely to stay. Run one after a reorg, after a manager change, during a high-growth stretch, or as a proactive check-in once or twice a year.

Question group	What it surfaces	Best used when
Motivation	What keeps the employee engaged	Energy is slipping or priorities have changed
Role and workload	Friction in the day-to-day job	Scope, pace, or resourcing may be off
Manager relationship	Trust and support from the manager	You want candid feedback while there is time to adjust
Growth	Whether the employee sees a future here	Promotion, stretch work, or learning feels unclear
Recognition	Whether effort feels visible and valued	Strong contributors seem harder to retain
Flight-risk signals	Early reasons someone might leave	You need direct signals before attrition happens

For anonymous pattern-finding, use our employee engagement survey questions that predict turnover. For senior-leader visibility below a manager, use skip-level meeting questions.

Stay interview questions about motivation

Motivation questions tell you what keeps the employee engaged right now.

What part of your work feels most worth doing right now?
Which recent project or responsibility gave you the most energy?
What kinds of work do you wish made up more of your week?
What parts of the job drain you faster than they should?
If we made one change that would make this role more satisfying, what should it be?

Stay interview questions about the role and workload

Role questions surface whether the day-to-day job still matches the role the employee thought they had.

Does your current workload feel sustainable?
Are you spending enough time on the work you were hired to do?
Where does your role still feel unclear or underspecified?
What work should be stopped, delegated, or simplified so you can focus on higher-value priorities?
Is there anything about how this team operates that makes it harder to do your best work?

Stay interview questions about the manager relationship

Manager questions surface how supported the employee feels in the relationship closest to their day-to-day work.

What do I do that helps you do your best work?
What do you need more of from me as your manager?
Are there moments when I unintentionally make your work harder?
Do you feel comfortable raising concerns or disagreements with me?
If you could change one thing about how we work together, what would it be?

Stay interview questions about growth and future fit

Growth questions test whether the employee sees a future here that feels real, not hypothetical.

Do you feel like you are growing in the direction you want?
What skills or experiences do you want more exposure to in the next six to twelve months?
Is your next likely step here clear enough to feel credible?
What kind of stretch opportunity would make this role more compelling?
Is there a capability you want to build that you are not getting enough room to practice?

Stay interview questions about recognition and support

Recognition questions tell you whether effort feels visible, appreciated, and backed by the right support.

Do you feel like your work is noticed in the right ways?
When you do strong work, what kind of recognition actually feels meaningful to you?
Is there support, tooling, or context you should have that you are not getting today?
Are your contributions visible to the people who make decisions about growth and opportunity?
Where have you felt especially supported here, and where have you felt on your own?

Stay interview questions that surface flight-risk signals

Flight-risk questions should be direct without sounding accusatory.

What might tempt you to take a call from another company right now?
Have there been moments recently when staying here felt harder to justify?
What would another company have to offer to seriously get your attention?
Is there anything you are worried will not improve if you stay here another year?
What is one thing we should fix now if we want this to remain a place you want to stay?

How to run a stay interview well

Stay interviews work best when they feel like part of a healthy management rhythm, not a surprise retention tactic. Set context up front, ask follow-up questions, and leave with one or two commitments you can actually keep. If you already run recurring 1:1s, that is often the right place to schedule one.

Four habits matter most:

Explain the purpose clearly. Say you want to understand how to make the role stronger, not test loyalty.
Ask follow-up questions. “Can you tell me more?” usually gets more signal than moving to the next scripted prompt.
Commit only to what you can do. A small change you actually make builds more trust than a big promise you cannot keep.
Close the loop afterward. Summarize what you heard, what you will act on, and what needs a longer path.

Stay interview mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is treating the conversation like a disguised performance review or a one-time save attempt after disengagement is obvious. Another is asking candid questions, then getting defensive when the answers are inconvenient.

Avoid these traps:

Do not argue with the answer in real time.
Do not ask questions you are unwilling to hear honestly.
Do not promise promotions, compensation changes, or role redesigns on the spot.
Do not confuse one conversation with a retention strategy. A stay interview is useful only if it changes how you manage afterward.

Used well, stay interviews help managers catch retention issues earlier and strengthen 1:1s before the only feedback left is an exit interview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are stay interview questions?

Stay interview questions are prompts a manager uses with a current employee to understand what keeps them engaged, what could push them away, and what support would make them more likely to stay. Unlike an exit interview, the conversation happens while there is still time to improve the employee's experience.

When should managers run stay interviews?

Managers usually run stay interviews before there is visible attrition risk: after a major role change, after a manager transition, during a retention-sensitive period, or as a recurring check-in once or twice a year for key employees or teams. They work best as a proactive conversation, not as a reaction after someone has already started checking out.

What's the difference between a stay interview and an engagement survey?

A stay interview is a direct conversation between a manager and an employee, which makes it useful for nuance, follow-up questions, and specific next steps. An engagement survey is better for anonymous pattern-finding across a team or company. Most organizations need both at different moments.

How long should a stay interview be?

A stay interview usually works best at 30 to 45 minutes. That gives enough time to cover motivation, growth, manager support, and flight-risk signals without making the conversation feel like a formal performance review.