After 18 years of running a business, I've conducted my fair share of Exit Interviews. And you know what? I think they kind of suck.

When you're farewelling those wonderful humans who've decided to spread their wings and take their career in directions you sadly can't offer, I've found that exit interviews generally don't offer any surprises.

But for the "bad leavers"? That's where things get messy. Too often, these conversations turn into unconstructive bitch fests – a litany of complaints that feel more like therapeutic venting than actionable feedback.

So when I heard Organisational Psychologist Adam Grant talk about 'Stay Interviews', I made a mental note to give them a shot.

The premise is simple: instead of waiting until someone's leaving to understand what went wrong, why not regularly and proactively check in with your people to understand what's keeping them engaged (and equally, what is not)?

Last week, I finished my first round of Stay Interviews with my team at Inventium. The hours I dedicated to these conversations were some of the best spent hours of my last month at work.

These conversations gave me deeper insights into what genuinely motivates each team member to rock up on Monday mornings with enthusiasm.

I learnt more deeply about what gives them purpose in the work they do and what we do together as a company.

I learnt what would send them hopping onto Seek faster than you can say "toxic workplace culture."

Some revelations were what I expected, but others were genuine surprises that have already influenced how I think about team development and our culture.

One of the most powerful things about Stay Interviews is their timing. You're having these conversations when people are engaged, motivated, and thinking clearly about their experience. There's no emotional baggage of departure and no defensive posturing. It's pure, actionable intelligence.

If you're keen to implement stay interviews in your business or with your team, here are the questions I put to my team.

(I recommend sending these out a couple of weeks prior to give people some proper thinking time. These aren't the kind of questions you can just fire off on the spot and expect thoughtful responses).

So ditch the Exit Interview and start having conversations that matter, when they matter. Your team (and your retention rates) will thank you for it.

Cheers

Amantha

P.S. What's your experience with Exit Interviews? Have you tried Stay Interviews? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hit reply and share your insights. I read every response :)

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