Toolkit · Article 03 · Performance & Talent Management

Stay Talk Kit

Short talks that help people tell you what is wrong. While they still care enough to stay.

3Tools
4Steps
30Minutes
FreeTo use
FIVE QS DAY 14 STAY?
01

At a glance

What it is

Ask before they leave

Exit talks come too late. By then, people are polite and already gone.

A stay talk is a short, kind chat with someone who is still here. You ask what keeps them, and what might make them go.

Then you fix one thing. Small fixes, done fast, build trust.

Who it is for

The people who run them

People managers run the talks. HRBPs set the rhythm and track the actions.

When to use it

Three moments

  • Twice a year for each person in your team.
  • After a big change, like a new boss, a reorg or the increment letters.
  • When a good person seems quiet or tired.
Kyun, the Mimansa loris
Kyun

Someone good may be thinking of leaving. Shall we ask them while they still care?

02

The four steps

About 30 minutes for the talk, and two weeks to follow up. Repeat every six months.

  1. 1Book 30 minutesDay 1
  2. 2Ask the five questions30 min
  3. 3Agree one action5 min
  4. 4Follow up in two weeksDay 14
1
Step 1 of 4

Book 30 minutes

Day 1

The manager does this.

  1. Book a quiet slot, away from the review cycle.
  2. Say it is a stay talk, not a review.
  3. Add it to the Manager Talk Calendar.
Kyun

Pick a calm day. Not the week of ratings.

STAY TALK 30 MIN FRIDAY
2
Step 2 of 4

Ask the five questions

30 min

The manager asks. The person does most of the talking.

  1. Use the Five Stay Questions card.
  2. Listen more than you speak. Do not defend.
  3. Write down their words, not your view of them.
Kyun

Ask, then wait. The real answer often comes second.

FIVE
3
Step 3 of 4

Agree one action

5 min

The manager and the person agree it together.

  1. Pick one thing you can change within a month.
  2. Name who owns it and by when.
  3. Log it in the Stay Talk Tracker the same day.
Kyun

Of all you heard, what is the one thing to fix first?

ONE THING
4
Step 4 of 4

Follow up in two weeks

Day 14

The manager does this. The HRBP checks the tracker each month.

  1. Tell the person what you did, even if it is not done yet.
  2. Ask if it helped.
  3. Update the status, and set the next talk six months out.
Kyun

Two weeks on. Did they hear back from you?

14
03

Example and how-to

Filled-in example · Stay Talk Tracker

Product team, Bengaluru GCC

A made-up team of 7 engineers. These are one manager's talks in October. Copy the shape, not the words.

Anjali M. · 6 Oct
Wants to lead a small project. Felt passed over last time. Action: give her the next feature, by 1 Nov. Owner: manager. Done.
Rahul S. · 7 Oct
Long commute from Whitefield. Action: ask for two set home days, by 20 Oct. Owner: HRBP. In progress.
Fatima K. · 9 Oct
Unsure how the increment was set. Action: walk her through her pay band, by 23 Oct. Owner: manager. Done.
Karthik R. · 13 Oct
Bored with support tickets. Action: one day a week on new code, from 1 Nov. Owner: manager. Not started.
Divya P. · 14 Oct
Happy. Wants a mentor from another team. Action: ask L&D for a match, by 28 Oct. Owner: HRBP. In progress.
Sameer T. · 16 Oct
Thought of leaving after he was told off in public. Action: manager to apologise and agree how to give feedback, by 18 Oct. Owner: manager. Done.
How-to guide · 3 minutes

How to run a stay talk

  1. Book 30 minutes. Call it a stay talk, not a review.
  2. Start warm. Say you want them to stay and grow here.
  3. Ask the five questions, one at a time.
  4. Listen. Do not explain or defend.
  5. Agree one action, with an owner and a date.
  6. Log it the same day.
  7. Get back to them within two weeks.
04

What you get

3 free tools. Each one is a single page or a single sheet.

Kyun

That's the kit. One card for the talk, two sheets to keep track.

05

Why it matters, and what's next

42%

of people who quit say their manager or company could have done something to keep them.

Source: Gallup, Employee Turnover: Preventable, Yet Often Ignored, 2024 (717 US workers who quit in the past year, surveyed Nov 2023)
16%

of employees say their last talk with their manager meant a great deal to them.

Source: Gallup, A Great Manager's Most Important Habit, 2023 (nearly 15,000 employees)
80%

of employees who got useful feedback in the past week are fully engaged.

Source: Gallup, A Great Manager's Most Important Habit, 2023
Kyun

Next, how to notice the moments that make people leave.