When it comes to keeping your best employees engaged, motivated, and invested in your company, traditional performance reviews just don’t cut it. Employees want to be heard, valued, and given opportunities to grow—before they consider clicking “Apply” on another company’s job posting.
That’s where stay interviews, internal mobility interviews, and exit interviews come in. Like the iconic journey down the Yellow Brick Road in The Wizard of Oz, these three conversations guide employees through their career paths, ensuring they feel supported and appreciated every step.
And just like Dorothy’s famous line—“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”—companies that embrace these conversations unlock a powerful formula for employee retention and workplace satisfaction:
🚀 Stay interviews, internal mobility interviews, and exit interviews—oh my!
Let’s explore each of these key interviews and how they work together to create a more engaged, loyal workforce.
Stay Interviews: “There’s No Place Like Home”
What is the best way to keep employees from leaving? Ask them what they need before they start looking elsewhere.
Stay interviews are proactive conversations between managers and employees that uncover what keeps them engaged, what could make them leave, and what motivates them to do their best work. They help companies course-correct in real time instead of waiting for exit interviews, which are already too late.
Key Questions to Ask in a Stay Interview:
- What do you enjoy most about your role?
- What’s one thing that would make your job more fulfilling?
- Do you feel recognized and valued?
- Are there any frustrations that make you consider leaving?
- What career goals do you have, and how can we help you achieve them?
A little curiosity and care go a long way. When employees feel seen and heard, they’re far more likely to click their heels and say, “There’s no place like home.”
Internal Mobility Interviews: “Courage to Grow”
Like the Cowardly Lion searching for bravery, many employees hesitate to raise their hands for internal roles—worried about office politics, rejection, or being overlooked.
Internal mobility interviews give employees a clear, structured path to grow within the company rather than feeling like they need to leave to advance their careers. Companies build a stronger, more loyal workforce by creating a culture that encourages movement, skill development, and promotion from within.
How Internal Mobility Interviews Drive Employee Retention:
✅ Show employees they don’t have to leave to move up.
✅ Reduce hiring costs by filling jobs with internal employees.
✅ Boost morale by demonstrating a commitment to career growth.
✅ Strengthen teams with institutional knowledge and cross-functional expertise.
When companies embrace internal growth opportunities, employees won’t need to search for their next job somewhere over the rainbow.
Exit Interviews: “A Brain for Better Employee Retention”
Like the Scarecrow searching for a brain, innovative companies use exit interviews to gather data, spot patterns, and continuously improve the employee experience.
When employees leave, they hold golden insights into what’s working, what’s broken, and why they decided to move on. The key is capturing this information in an honest, structured way—without bias or assumptions.
The Right Way to Conduct Exit Interviews:
- Use structured, objective questions instead of vague, open-ended ones.
- Focus on themes and trends rather than one-off complaints.
- Keep it non-confrontational and judgment-free to ensure honesty.
- Store responses in a centralized system for ongoing analysis.
Companies that actively listen to departing employees can adjust to prevent future attrition—turning a painful loss into a powerful learning opportunity.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Retention
Individually, stay, internal mobility, and exit interviews provide valuable insights into employee engagement. But together? They form a continuous feedback loop that keeps employees motivated, fulfilled, and excited about their future with your company.
By prioritizing human conversations and using tools like Honeit’s interview intelligence platform to capture real-time insights, companies can create a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and eager to grow—right where they are.
Are you ready to follow the Yellow Brick Road to a stronger, more engaged workforce? Let’s talk!
