New Book Encourages Managers to Hold Stay Interviews Before They Lose Their Best Talent

LOS ANGELES - May 18, 2015 - PRLog -- New book, Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss: A Manager's Playbook (Berrett-Koehler Publishers) by Beverly Kaye, Founder of Career Systems International, and Sharon Jordan-Evans is launching today at the Association for Talent Development (ATD) conference in Orlando, FL, with a book signing and presentation. This is a practical guide for managers who want to learn about stay interviews, how to conduct them effectively, and how to respond to difficult employee requests.

A stay interview is a conversation between a manager and an employee that lets your employees know how much you value them and helps you find out what will keep them engaged and on your team. It’s simply talking to your employees about what matters most and then working together to make that happen. Worried that your talented people will want things you can’t deliver, like a promotion or more money? Kaye and Jordan-Evans share a simple four-step process for dealing with difficult requests. They explain how to create an atmosphere that will make the interview more comfortable and provide dozens of suggested questions and icebreakers. They also suggest where, when, and how you can do stay interviews.

The authors developed the concept of stay interviews in the late 1990’s when working with a company who was concerned about losing a key group of talent. They suggested that the company ask those people “What will keep you here?” and then use the responses to craft their retention strategies. It seemed so basic and so simple. Yet, up to that time, managers seldom asked that question in such a straightforward way. Or they asked it in an exit interview, which is almost always too late.

“Before reading this book, I thought interviewing people stopped once they were hired. The simple, pragmatic ideas and strategies in this gem of a book are just what I need to keep the great people I have.” —Beth Loeb Davies, Director of Employee Development, Tesla Motors

“The inventors of stay interviews have produced a terrific playbook to help managers everywhere successfully meet today’s pressing challenge of talent retention and engagement.”—Kevin D. Wilde, Vice President, Talent and Organization Capabilities, General Mills

“I’m amazed at how many managers don’t tell their good people how much they care about them and want them to stay until they’re in the middle of the exit interview. Read this book and use stay interviews to keep your best people happy and productive.”—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Great Leaders Grow

“This book is a great follow-up to Love ’Em or Lose ’Em. The authors provide practical and easy-to-use guidelines for making stay interviews an effective engagement tool.” —Scott Sibella, President and Chief Operating Officer, MGM Grand Hotel and Casino

Career Systems International (www.careersystemsintl.com) is a privately held employee engagement and career development company. The Jordan Evans Group (www.jeg.org)  coaches high-performing executives and speaks on the topic of engagement and retention.