We have all heard that old adage, “Employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers.” I have been thinking a lot about the use of effective and efficient exit interviews. It seems when I inquire with other HR professionals, all too often I learn many organizations are not utilizing exit interviews for various reasons.
In my opinion, exit interviews bring a lot of value! I can think of more reasons to conduct them than to not. Like everything, “The devil is in the detail,” and of course the better plan of design and delivery the better the execution. There is nothing I care for less than collecting data for the sake of collecting data. You have to be committed to reviewing and doing something about trends…. if you plan to not do anything about the trends, please don’t waste the time of the departing employee.
Well-executed exit interviews can really provide granular details of the perceptions that ultimately lead to the actions of the employee who has resigned. As they say, “Perception is in the eye of the beholder.” The trends associated with the various perceptions can tell quite interesting stories. Exit interviews are like storytellers, they help with discovery. They can provide rich data when HR professionals consider design and implementation of any change element aligned with strategy such as employee engagement, and culture.
Regarding delivery method, for companies which do consistently conduct exit interviews, I am curious as to the most popular style of delivery companies are utilizing. With the various generations in the workplace, it seems popularity of online mechanisms be as effective if not more compared to a face2face interview? Perhaps an online version would improve standardization and also reduce any concerns with interpreting the feedback. It is likely it may also enhance participation and enhance completion rates along with the element of open sharing aligned with being anonymous. Although, there is something still rich in having the face2face discussion when presented with a resignation to better understand the elements behind the decision.
I am interested to know if there are any companies which require completion of an exit interview as part of the required steps before leaving, as part of the actual process. If so, any top questions you recommend and would like to share with others who are contemplating updating or implementing exit interviews?
As being an effective listener is a critical skill within the communication competency aligned with HR professionals, can you shed any light as to reasons you or the organization you are a part currently does not utilize exit interviews?


One Response to Effective & Efficient Exit Interviews
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Angie, Fantastic thought provoking article.
I don’t think you can mandate the completion of an exit interview as the departing employee is going to feel threatened in respect of receiving a reference etc. You will lose the honesty and value to the feedback.
To make exit interviews a true value process for an organisation the departing employee needs to feel comfortable that the organisation are adult enough to deal with their feedback.