08/05/2026
Your best people rarely complain before they quit. They just leave.
The stay interview exists precisely for this reason. It's a structured one-on-one with a current employee, designed to understand what's keeping them engaged and what might push them out, before any decision is made. Unlike exit interviews, it gives you time to actually do something.
A few things that make them work: have managers lead them (not HR), keep them completely separate from performance reviews, share the questions in advance, and listen far more than you talk. The follow-through after the conversation is what determines whether you build trust or erode it.
For high performers especially, this conversation matters more than most. They have options, they move fast, and they often disengage quietly before anyone notices.
We wrote a full guide on how to structure these conversations, what questions to ask, and what to do with the answers: 👇
https://www.peoplebox.biz/en/blog/how-to-conduct-a-stay-interview-to-prevent-high-performer-turnover