Why They Stay and Why They Leave

Abstract

Registered nurse retention is declining, with a national turnover rate in 2021 of 27%. After implementing a toolkit, nursing leaders in 1 organization completed 75 stay interviews with nurses in a cardiothoracic telemetry and a cardiothoracic surgical intensive care unit. Nurses reported that unit culture, team/peers, and scheduling were important in decisions to stay in their positions, but respondents considered leaving for salary, growth/development, and traveling opportunities. The stay interview process affords nurse leaders an opportunity to examine why nurses stay or leave and supports the development of targeted retention strategies.

Peer-led stay interviews to connect employees and develop retention strategies

“…Stay interviews can provide information about what keeps nurses in the hospital 6. Stay interviews hold additional benefits for nursing retention efforts that exit interviews and surveys do not.…”

“…Stay interviews are gaining traction in nursing as an effective strategy to support engagement and retain nurses. [5][6][7] A stay interview is a structured discussion between a leader and an employee to learn strategies to support the engagement and retention of the employee within an organization. 8 The application to nursing is questionable, as it is unclear whether nurses will speak candidly with their supervisors or if questions were provided to participants ahead of the session.…”

“…Unlike exit interviews, which are conducted when an employee leaves the company, stay interviews aim to identify and address issues that may be causing dissatisfaction or potential turnover while employees are still actively working with the organization. Stay interviews are gaining traction in nursing as an effective strategy to support engagement and retain nurses 5-7…”

Five Strategies Leaders in Academic Medicine Can Implement Now to Enhance Gender Equity

“…Stay interviews are often a missing component of faculty retention efforts; however, they have been used in corporate settings for many years to reduce employee turnover. In medicine, stay interviews have recently gained traction, particularly for the retention of nurses [ 6 , 7 ] and those underrepresented in medicine [ 8 ]. They are ideally conducted in person and involve one-on-one meetings with a supervisor.…”