How to Conduct an Exit Interview.
There may never be a better time and place to find
out what youíre doing wellóand what your
organization needs to do better, than during an exit
interview with the person you are terminating.
Along with employee satisfaction surveys, exit
interviews may offer some insight into improving
your workplace.
Exit interviews can be
extremely helpful in improving and better
understanding your current organization. How so?
Because itís an occasion likely to generate blunt
and candid feedback. You may find that some items
were resolvable with prior information but others
are not, such as the desire for a large salary
increase.
Unfortunately, if improvement
ideas or employee concerns come up at the exit
interview, itís probably too late to improve or help
your exiting employee.The best time for an
associate to discuss concerns, dissatisfactions and
suggestions with you is as a committed employee, not
on his way out the door. Make sure you provide
lots of opportunities to gather and learn from
employee feedbackóincluding surveys, department
meetings, comment or suggestion forms, and
more.
Get feedback from employees who
leave voluntarilyóand ask for feedback from
employees you fire for attendance or
performance. Useful information can be gained in
both cases.
Exit interviews should be done
in person. Your employeeís manager should
conduct the exit interview, with a human resources
senior staff person doing a follow up. Some
organizations use written or online questionnaires
to conduct exit interviews. Most professionals
suggest talking with the departing employee to
more completely explore and understand individual
views and feelings.
The exit interview
questions you ask are key to obtaining actionable
information. Begin with ìlight talkî to help
your departing employee feel comfortable answering
your questions. Assure that person that no
negative consequences will result from honest
discussion. Explain that you will use the
information provided during the exit interview, in
context and in its entirety, to help your
organization do better. Freely explore each
response for additional clarification and complete
understanding.
Sample exit interview
questions you can use.
-
Why have you decided to leave the
company?
- Have you shared your concerns with
anyone in the company prior to deciding to
leave?
- Was a single event responsible for
your decision to leave?
- What does your new
company offer that encouraged you to accept their
offer and leave this company?
- What do you
value about the company?
- What did you
dislike about the company?
- The quality of
supervision is important to most people at work. How
was your relationship with your
manager?
- What could your supervisor do to
improve his or her management style and
skill?
- What are your views about management
and leadership, in general, in the
company?
- What did you like most about your
job?
- What did you dislike about your job?
What would you change about your job?
- Do you
feel you had the resources and support necessary to
accomplish your job? If not, what was
missing?
- We try to be an employee-oriented
company in which employees experience positive
morale and motivation. What is your experience of
employee morale and motivation in the
company?
- Were your job responsibilities
characterized correctly during the interview process
and orientation?
- Did you have clear goals
and know what was expected of you in your
job?
- Did you receive adequate feedback about
your performance day-to-day and in the performance
development planning process?
- Did you
clearly understand and feel a part of the
accomplishment of the company mission and
goals?
- Describe your experience of the
companyís commitment to quality and customer
service.
- Did the management of the company
care about and help you accomplish your personal and
professional development and career goals?
- What would you recommend to help us create
a better workplace?
- Do the policies and
procedures of the company help to create a well
managed, consistent, and fair workplace in which
expectations are clearly defined?
- Describe
the qualities and characteristics of the person who
is most likely to succeed in this
company.
- What are the key qualities and
skills we should seek in your
replacement?
- Do you have any recommendations
regarding our compensation, benefits and other
reward and recognition efforts?
- What would
make you consider working for this company again in
the future? Would you recommend the company as a
good place to work to your friends and
family?
- Can you offer any other comments
that will enable us to understand why you are
leaving, how we can improve, and what we can do to
become a better company?
End the
meeting on a positive note. Before showing the
door, wish your soon to be ex-employee success in
her new
endeavor, or whatever she does in the future. End
the exit interview graciously. And if it applies,
use the information you get to improve your
workplace.
Employees have the right to
decline an exit interview, so you should inform the
departing associate of that option. Also, career
experts are divided as to whether the exit interview
benefits the company more than the worker, or is
worth the time at all. This article is intended as
information only and is not a substitute for legal
or professional advice.
Executive Search International