Stay interviews should focus on how your employee feels about the work they do every day, the value of their contributions and how they feel within the organization.

Send workers a few starter questions to prepare for the conversation ahead of time.

Some common questions are:

• What excites you to come into work?
• Do you feel good about the impact of your work?
• What do you want to do more of at work? Less?
• Do you see a future for yourself at the company? How are things the same or different?
• If you were manager for a day, what would you do differently?

Perhaps most importantly during the Great Resignation, managers should ask their employees what it would take for them to leave the company.

As a supervisor, it’s your job to bring this feedback to the larger organization to see how you can provide the tools, resources or opportunities your employee isn’t currently getting, such as a clear sense of purpose, stretch assignments, fair wages or greater flexibility.

Don’t be surprised if your employee initiates a stay interview conversation if you’re not proactively doing so.

Having a stay interview doesn’t mean anything if you don’t act on the feedback you get from your employee.

Follow a few simple steps to close a stay interview on a strong note: Thank the employee for their time, summarize the feedback you’ve heard, relay what your next steps will be and provide a clear sense of what the employee can expect will be different following the discussion.