Exit interviews are your last chance to gain valuable insights about your organisation from a departing employee. You also have the opportunity to help the employee prepare for their next career move.
Exit interviews are commonly viewed as a necessary evil by employers, just another step in the employment termination process. This does not need to be the case. Exit interviews can provide your business with valuable information to help you drive organisational change. You can learn where and how your organisation can improve and the departing employee can also benefit from the exit interview.
Why conduct an exit interview?
Exit interviews are commonly held to identify the reasons for an employee leaving. An employee who has agreed to an exit interview is unlikely to be leaving under acrimonious circumstances and will probably approach the exit interview with the aim of providing honest feedback. You can use the information provided in the exit interview to analyse positive and negative trends in your organisation and make changes where required.
It is important that your organisation is seen to act on employee feedback. Employees are less likely to offer feedback if they feel their contribution will not be acted upon. They may see the exit interview as an exercise in futility. This is a perception that can be difficult to overcome.
Geri Rigg, Human Resources Manager for Australian Business Limited explains "If the employee wishes the information to be kept confidential it may limit your ability to use the information to address a general issue. However, you can still use the information in a broader sense to pinpoint an issue."
Are exit interviews compulsory?
No. In fact, there are times when an exit interview will be inappropriate. An employee departing under acrimonious circumstances is unlikely to have positive feelings about your organisation and any feedback they provide is likely to be unbalanced. It is usually not a good idea to ask an employee in this instance for an exit interview.
Likewise, an employee who has been dismissed should not be asked for an exit interview. This is considered inappropriate and does not offer the dismissed employee any benefit in return for their feedback.
Employees who are leaving under harmonious circumstances are more likely to offer balanced feedback.
How will the exit interview benefit your organisation?
There are many ways in which the exit interview can benefit your organisation. It is likely that each employee in your organisation has a different view of the aims and processes. Each employee can potentially provide you with a fresh perspective on any aspect of your organisation. However, the reverse is also true. You may find a number of departing employees are providing you with similar feedback regarding a particular aspect of your organisation. This will clearly show trends and will allow you to pinpoint weak points in your organisation. You are then in a better position to fix the root cause of the problem. Such trends can provide you with a powerful tool to drive organisational change.
You may find departing employees are offering positive feedback on a particular aspect of your organisation. This will allow you to analyse the strengths of your organisation. Once you know what your organisation does well, you can build on it.
Your organisation’s reputation is important. Exit interviews can give the departing employee a sense of goodwill, coming from the knowledge that they have been given an opportunity to air their views and help your organisation understand how it can improve. In this situation, they are more likely to comment favourably on your organisation to their next employees. They may even recommend your organisation to those who are seeking work.
How can you help the departing employee?
It may seem the exit interview has more to offer the organisation than the departing employee. This is not always the case.
Departing employees may feel like they have not been heard at your organisation. The exit interview provides them with an opportunity to tell you how they feel. Assure the employee that their feedback is valuable.
Simply listening to the departing employee can assist them in dealing with issues that may have led to their departure. Rigg says, "The exit interview can be cathartic in a similar way to an army debrief, by helping employees deal with their emotions. You must be sure to listen to the employee though, don't argue with them or try to editorialise their comments."
A departing employee may be moving into part time work or may be unemployed once they leave your organisation. You may be in a position to help such an employee, even if they don’t wish to work in your organisation. New Zealand’s largest brewer, Lion Nathan, has helped departing employees by finding them positions in the liquor industry with other organisations. This may not be appropriate for your organisation but it may be worth considering if the employee is departing on amicable terms.
Tips for the interview
- Conduct the interview with a neutral manager. Employees are less likely to be intimidated and the results will be more honest.
- Don't argue with the employee. Listen to them.
- Use a standard template for the interview. This can make information gathering easier.
- Assure the employee that their feedback is valued - and value it.
- Assure the employee that the interview is confidential - and keep it confidential.
- Don’t make the interview too long.
- Consider making your questions specific. The results of general questions can be difficult to track the trends.
- Don’t ask a dismissed employee for an exit interview. This is considered inappropriate.
- Avoid biased questions. Let the employee tell you how they feel.
- Thank the employee for giving up their time. Exit interviews are not compulsory.
- Ask how your organisation can improve.
- Focus on organisational strengths as well as weaknesses.
Sources
- ‘Telling it like it is’, Callahan S. HR Monthly, Dec 04, Jan 05.
- ‘How to manage redundancies and remain an employer of choice’, Rothwell J. Human Capital Australia, issue 2.3.
- ‘Dismissal’, Morin J, Yorks L. Drake Beam Morin Inc, 1990.