Exit interviews – is there any point to them? When done correctly there certainly is. When an employee leaves a company, the workforce are often left asking ‘Why did they leave?’ A successful exit interview should answer this question by giving the employee a chance to express their parting thoughts about the company; good and bad. By identifying true reasons for employee disaffection, you can help boost future retention rates. If your exit interview is not addressing this important question, you’re wasting your time. Here are three top tips every Hiring Manager should be using to make the most of an exit interview…
- Set achievable goals: You need to clearly define what you want to achieve by doing an exit interview. Your key focus should be on improving job satisfaction, in respect of pay, workload, communication and scope for progression. Ensure you refer to these key points throughout the interview.
- Set the agenda: The second stage of a successful interview is the agenda. There are a number of formats companies use for exit interviews, such as telephone interviews, face-to-face or surveys. Face-to-face interviews are better suited to gathering qualitative information and can reveal more complex reasons for someone’s decision to leave.
- Who conducts the interview: When considering both an internal and external interview it’s important to think about which option the employee will feel most comfortable with and therefore will be more likely to respond openly. It’s important that interviewees are properly trained so that they are able to manage the process efficiently. They should be provided with all the relevant information in line with the interview goals and have lots of insight into the employee they are interviewing.