The Importance of Conducting an Exit Interview

Whatever the size of your organization, over time people are going to come and go. And, it doesn’t matter if an employee has been at your organization for 10 months or 10 years; conducting an exit interview is an invaluable way to get honest feedback before he or she leaves.

Here are a few stats from Gallup:

• Ninety-one percent of Fortune 500 companies conduct exit interviews
• Seventy-one percent of employees use referrals from current employees of a company to learn about potential job opportunities
• The cost of a lost employee is estimated at tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5-2.0 times an employee’s annual salary

By conducting an exit interview every time someone moves on from your organization, you’ll be able to notice patterns and trends, and take steps to solve problems and improve retention going forward.

Now, while some employers do them for people who are being let go/fired and those who are leaving voluntarily, I only do them for voluntary terminations, so that’s what I’m focusing on in this blog.

If a star employee puts in their notice, an HR consultant or director may want to speak with them before their last day. If they’re leaving because of an issue within the company, you may have a chance to fix it if you can find out what it is and address it head-on.

I can’t stress this enough: most people quit their boss, not their company. If a great worker is struggling under a toxic manager, you need to know (even if you can’t change things at this point).

Otherwise, you can benefit from conducting an exit interview on someone’s last day with the company. Let’s look at some ways to make the entire process more effective:

Create a welcoming atmosphere.

Choose a quiet one-on-one setting and remind the person that you value their feedback. These situations can be stressful for people, so do what you can to make them feel comfortable and you’ll receive more honest answers in return.

Don’t ask a manager or supervisor to sit in; you can share your findings with them after the employee has left the company.

Ask the right questions.

Avoid vague, open-ended queries that could be confusing. Compile a list of thoughtful questions to ask, such as:

• What did you like/dislike most about your job?
• Do you feel you were adequately trained to do your job?
• In the past 6 months, has someone met with you to discuss your career and your work performance?
• How would you describe your relationship with your manager/supervisor/colleagues?
• Were you happy with your salary, benefits and other perks? Were there any benefits or perks you think should have been added?
• What made you look for another job/accept another job offer?
• Before accepting this new position, did you speak to anyone at the company about other possibilities here?
• What’s the one thing we could do – or could have done – to make you want to stay?
• Would you recommend this company to a friend or family member?

Really, really listen.

You need to ask lots of questions and not only hear what the person is saying, but what they’re not. Often, people have a hard time opening up to an HR consultant or director, and their true feelings may take some time to come out.

Your job is to make people feel comfortable, and by doing so, they’ll feel more free to tell you the truth. Don’t rush the meeting, and clarify exactly what they’re saying rather than making guesses about what they might mean.

Share the knowledge.

Once a worker leaves, share their thoughts with senior leadership (e.g., owner, president, CEO) and their direct manager. This can be difficult when employees are critical of a manager or senior leader, but it’s important that you are transparent about what the departing worker said. Otherwise, nothing will change.

Throughout the whole process, remember that the goal of conducting an exit interview is to ensure that someone leaves feeling heard, and that the HR consultant has input on how to improve the role and overall organization.

No matter what the size of your company, knowing the ins and outs of these interviews and employee retention will give you the competitive edge.

Don’t miss another opportunity to keep your best and brightest employees. Call me now and let’s talk about how I can help you.