But even if your first encounter with the idea of stay interviews is happening right now , as you read this article , don ’ t worry . It ’ s never too late to put good practices into place at your business , and in a climate where finding great employees is so challenging , anything that can be done to attract strong hires ( and , even more importantly , keep the great hires that have already been made ) is worth serious consideration . Of course , stay interviews are not the only means of retaining your best employees , but I would argue that they should be a key part of any business ’ s retention efforts .
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY It may be tempting to track down a list of stay interview questions and start scheduling sit-downs with your team members right away . Of course it ’ s tempting — when you come into possession of a tool that you believe will help strengthen your business and improve your team ’ s engagement , it ’ s natural to want to put that tool to use as quickly as possible . But like any tool , a stay interview is only useful when it ’ s wielded in the right way , so it ’ s crucial to lay the groundwork necessary to make the practice as effective as possible , which leads us to a concept critical to stay interviews ’ usefulness : psychological safety .
In 2014 , Google ( maybe you ’ ve heard of them ?) conducted an extensive study of what makes teams effective , code-named Project Aristotle in reference to the philosopher ’ s famous aphorism ,“ The whole is greater than the sum of its parts .” After studying 180 teams within their own company ( a process which involved hundreds of double-blind interviews , careful evaluation of the company ’ s annual engagement survey and analysis of a separate study on work and life ), Google found that the composition of the team mattered less than the manner in which the team worked . Specifically , they discovered that psychological safety , or the ability to take risks , admit mistakes , ask questions and offer new ideas in a team setting without fear of embarrassment or punishment , was the single most important predictor of team success . I repeat — the single most important predictor of a team ’ s success .
It may seem obvious that leaders should strive to create a work environment where asking a question doesn ’ t lead to criticism , but some employees may feel that asking even a basic question makes them appear ignorant or “ out of the loop .” It ’ s not enough to assume your team members are comfortable putting themselves out there — you must proactively seek ways to create a climate of psychological safety in your spa or business .
You do not , however , have to figure out how to establish such a climate all by yourself . Organizational behavioral scientist Amy Edmondson of Harvard is the person credited with introducing the concept of psychological safety as it relates to teams , and she provides a helpful framework . To determine the psychological safety level of a given team , Edmondson advises asking team member how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements : l If you make a mistake on this team , it is often held against you . l Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues . l People on this team sometimes reject others for being different . l It is safe to take a risk on this team . l It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help . l No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts . l Working with members of this team , my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized .
AUGUST 2021 ■ PULSE 35