More than 10 years ago, a leader from the Toro Corporation shared his leadership philosophy during an event I attended. I wish I could remember his name – I’d recognize him for this idea if I could! I sat through his session and was so glad I did because it changed how I managed my team. (P.S. – If you’re a Toro executive who taught about this in Ohio 10+ years ago, reach out and let me know!)

His whole talk was great, but the most impactful idea he left me with was this gem: Don’t just do exit interviews; do stay interviews, too, so they never leave!

Be proactive

During an exit interview, a team member has already decided to leave the company. What motivation do they have to give you feedback to make the company better at that point?

On the flip side, stay interviews conducted with team members who are not leaving and who have a vested interest in making it a better place for them to work often give us feedback that helps us improve. It’s a simple concept – you sit down with your team members one-on-one and ask them questions.

Ideally, everyone on your team does regular one-on-one meetings with their direct reports; we like to see these happening monthly so that there’s always an open line of communication. You can ask stay-interview-type questions during these forums over time. If you aren’t doing that, kicking off with stay interviews with the team members you want to make sure you don’t lose is a great start.

When you do stay interviews, or even one-on-ones, most important to their success is that you listen and make sure your team knows you’re hearing their feedback and considering it. You aren’t committing to implementing every suggestion, but you have to be willing to at least consider them if this process is going to work. No sitting there with your arms crossed and glaring when your team tells you the ways they think you can improve. Feedback is a gift that not everyone is fortunate enough to receive. It takes bravery to speak honestly in situations like this – treat the feedback like the gift that it is.

Results in action

I’m going to leave you with an example of what stay interviews have allowed us to do. We had a team member who was fantastic at leading a crew, and we moved them into a sales position because it was the next logical step for their career. They hated it and were brave enough to admit that during stay interviews and one-onones with their manager.

We moved them back into the field for a while, and as the company grew, we were able to create a whole new role that was perfectly suited to what they wanted to do and were good at. They’re thriving in the company now, and I’m grateful daily that they had the courage to tell us they wanted a different path.

If we hadn’t created space for conversations like this to happen, they probably would’ve come in one day to tell us they "found a better opportunity." Instead, we were able to find them a "better opportunity" within our company. I lay awake some nights thinking about all the good people who have left our company because we weren’t doing things like this. I wish I had started doing stay interviews earlier. If we had, we could’ve probably kept good people on board and found ways to better use their skills.

Want some inspiration on "stay" interview questions to ask? Check out the 10 questions we like to use.

Marty Grunder is founder of Grunder Landscaping Co. and The Grow Group coaching firm.