Stay Interviews: Part 2

Listening Is Only the Beginning: Turning Stay Interviews into Meaningful Action” 

You’ve taken the time to sit down with your team and ask thoughtful stay interview questions: What keeps them inspired? What challenges them? What might make them think about leaving? That’s a powerful step for any nonprofit leader. 

But here’s the truth: the real value of a stay interview isn’t in the conversation itself! 

It’s what you do next. 

Turning feedback into action is what builds trust, deepens engagement, and ultimately helps you retain the talented people who make your mission possible. 

1. Start by Looking for Patterns, Not Just Comments 

Nonprofit teams are often small but mighty. Employees are typically deeply committed, creative, and passionate. That’s why it’s important to look beyond individual comments and find the patterns in what your staff is saying. 

You might hear things like: 

·        “I believe in our mission, but I’m feeling burned out.”  

·        “I need more clarity around how I advance in the organization.” 

·        “Sometimes, it feels like my efforts go unnoticed.” 

Each of these statements tells a story, but when they start echoing across multiple interviews, they highlight key opportunities for improvement. Group your findings into themes like:  

·        Communication 

·        Leadership 

·        Recognition 

·        Workload 

·        Professional Development 

These patterns become your roadmap for change. 

2. Build a Response Plan That Aligns with Your Mission 

Once you’ve gathered and analyzed your stay interview data, the next step is to create a clear response plan that is:  

·        Realistic 

·        Values-Driven 

·        Speaks to Your Mission 

Your Plan Should Cover Four Key Areas: 

✅ Fixing Problems: 
Address the main factors that might drive staff away. That could mean revisiting workloads, creating more flexibility around remote work, or offering leadership training for managers. Sometimes small adjustments can have a big impact on the situation. 

✅ Developing Strengths: 
Don’t just fix what’s broken, build on what’s working. If staff express appreciation about your mentoring program, consider expanding it. If they love community outreach days, make them a regular tradition. Strengths are your cultural assets; invest in them. 

✅ Recognizing and Rewarding Impact: 
During stay interviews, you’ll often hear certain names repeated; the colleagues who go the extra mile, boost morale, or quietly keep things running. Celebrate them. Whether it’s through public acknowledgment, small bonuses, or a handwritten thank-you from leadership, recognition goes a long way in the nonprofit world where intrinsic motivation drives so much of the work. 

✅ Addressing Individual Concerns: 
Some feedback will be personal, unique to an individual’s role, workload, or professional development goals. Collaborate with managers or team leads to develop tailored action plans, especially for high-performing staff. Personalized attention communicates that you see and value each person’s contribution. 

    If your list feels overwhelming, focus first on two or three achievable goals. Quick wins create momentum and show the team that action is happening. You can always build from there.  

3. Share What You Learned …. and What You’ll Do Next 

Transparency builds trust, especially in mission-driven organizations where communication highly impacts morale. Once you’ve analyzed the results, share a summary with your team. Highlight the common themes you heard, the organization’s strengths, and the areas you plan to focus on.  

You might say something like: 

“Many of you shared how meaningful our mission is to you, but also that the workload can feel unsustainable at times. Over the next few months, we’ll be piloting a new project prioritization process and offering cross-training to help balance workloads.” 

This kind of open communication turns feedback into collaboration. Your team sees that they’re part of shaping the solution which contributes to the agency’s culture.  

4. An Anecdote: Turning Feedback into Change 

At a mid-sized community nonprofit focused on youth mentorship, leadership began noticing a troubling trend: their most passionate coordinators were burning out and leaving within two years. When the executive director conducted stay interviews, a clear theme emerged; the team loved their work but felt isolated and unable to identify how they could advance their careers within the organization. “We talk so much about building futures for the kids,” one coordinator shared, “but I’m not sure what my own future looks like here.” 

Instead of losing more great people, leadership acted. They created quarterly “Career Path” conversations, added professional development funds, and launched a peer-coaching program so staff could share expertise across departments. 

Six months later, turnover dropped, staff reported higher satisfaction, and the organization’s energy felt renewed. It was clear that listening, acting, and following through were the change agents for the organization. 

5. Keep the Conversation Alive 

Conducting stay interviews shouldn’t be a one-time exercise. The goal is to create a culture of ongoing listening. 

 Check in regularly, especially after changes have been implemented. Ask: 

·        How have things been going since our last conversation? 

·        Have the changes made a difference? 

·        What’s one thing that could make your work experience better right now? 

In nonprofits, where teams are deeply motivated by purpose but often stretched thin, this consistent follow-up reminds people that their well-being matters as much as the mission. 

6. Celebrate Progress and People 

When you make progress, even small steps, celebrate it!  Acknowledge improvements, share stories of impact, and highlight staff who have contributed ideas or led initiatives that came out of the stay interviews. 

One organization even created a “You Said, We Did” display board in the staff room, listing actions taken based on employee feedback. A small but powerful visual reminder that their voices drive change. 

Final Thoughts 

The insight you gain from stay interviews is only as powerful as what you do with it. When you turn feedback into meaningful action by fixing problems, developing strengths, and celebrating the people who make your mission possible, you create not just retention, but renewal. 

Written by Pat and Lisa — nonprofit consultants passionate about helping organizations turn vision into action.  Please reach out, we are here to help!!

Pat.PandLConsulting.com

Lisa.PandLConsulting.com