Stay Interview Questions Template
Use these stay interview questions to prepare a conversation about what makes work worth staying for and what could improve. Employees can reflect before meeting with a manager, then agree on a practical follow-up.
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Stay Interview Questions
Which part of your current work would you most like to keep?
Your thoughts…
A stay conversation is most useful while there is still time to act. Give employees room to describe what works, what drains their energy, and which change would matter. Avoid treating their answers as a promise to remain.
When to use this stay interview
This template is for a named employee-manager conversation, not an anonymous engagement survey or an exit interview. SurveyLegend can help collect optional preparation notes before the meeting. Explain who will read them and what happens next.
For a broader check across a team, use an employee pulse survey.
7 questions for your stay interview
Use these seven questions as a starting point. Every field is optional. Choose one answer where choices are listed and leave irrelevant text fields blank.
Respondent introduction:
Use these optional questions to prepare for your stay conversation. Your manager will read the notes you choose to share. You can leave a question blank and discuss it in person instead. Avoid naming other people in these notes.
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Explore this 7-question example at your own pace. Every question is optional.
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Stay Interview Questions
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How to customize your stay interview
Invite reflection rather than requiring every field. Tell employees what the manager can change and what needs a wider discussion. Offer a different contact when the reporting relationship makes candor difficult. After the conversation, record agreed actions with the employee's knowledge and set a realistic follow-up date.
Before sharing, try the questionnaire with a few intended respondents and clarify anything they interpret differently.
Use SurveyLegend's guide to open-ended questions when preparing follow-up prompts that let the employee explain what matters to them.
Printable stay interview template
Use this printable stay interview template as optional preparation notes for an individual stay conversation. It gives people who prefer paper or are less comfortable online another way to respond. Include the same context, questions, and answer choices as the online version. Tell respondents where to return it and who will review it. Paper answers need separate review or manual entry; they are not automatically added to online responses.
Download Stay Interview Questions Template (PDF) Export stay interview template as PDF
AI prompt for your stay interview
Make the next stay conversation easier to prepare for and act on.
The prompt below includes all seven questions and their response settings. Copy this prompt into an AI assistant to draft the questions. Review the draft, then build and customize the survey in SurveyLegend before sharing.
Copy the prompt into an AI assistant to draft the questions, then build your survey in SurveyLegend.
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How to use the answers
Read each response in the context of the conversation. Preserve what the employee values, identify a manageable change, and check back on whether it helped. Aggregate themes only when that does not expose individuals. Do not turn these notes into a prediction of who will resign.
A hospitality-focused retention thesis examined both workplace and community connections. Its findings were qualified, so this template uses the broader lesson to invite discussion about fit and work arrangements without claiming to predict retention.
Frequently asked questions
Is a stay interview anonymous?
Not in this version. It prepares an individual discussion with a manager, so explain access and confidentiality accurately before collecting notes.
Use a survey welcome page in SurveyLegend to state who will read the preparation notes before the employee begins.
How is it different from an exit interview?
A stay interview asks a current employee what supports a better working experience. An exit interview looks back after a decision to leave.
SurveyLegend's guide to employee exit interviews explains the separate process used when someone has decided to leave.
What should happen after the conversation?
Agree on a small number of actions, identify who will handle them, and schedule a follow-up. Explain honestly when a requested change cannot be made.
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