Ask Before They Quit
Exit interviews happen after the decision has already been made.
By the time a valued employee tells you they are leaving, the conditions that influenced that decision may have existed for months.
A stay interview gives managers the opportunity to understand what is working, what is becoming harder, and what could eventually cause someone to leave while there is still time to respond.
Supervisors, nonprofit leaders, school administrators, healthcare managers, behavioral health leaders, human services organizations, HR teams, and anyone responsible for retaining strong employees.
Learn what your people are experiencing before you lose them.
Understand what employees value and what makes the work meaningful enough to stay.
Surface workload, process, leadership, culture, or resource issues before they become exit reasons.
Learn where better support, communication, clarity, recognition, or development could make a difference.
12 questions. One conversation worth having.
The guide helps managers move beyond “Are you happy here?” and ask questions that reveal what employees are actually experiencing.
The full resource includes all 12 questions plus guidance for preparing, listening, identifying patterns, and following through.
Asking is only useful if employees believe you want the answer.
The goal is understanding, not explaining why the employee's experience is incorrect.
Pay attention to repeated themes across workload, supervision, recognition, influence, and culture.
If someone raises an issue, tell them what will happen next, even when the answer cannot be an immediate yes.
Do not wait for an exit interview to learn what your best people needed six months earlier.
MyMensana 2026