Let’s face it: Exit interviews are uncomfortable for everyone involved. Most former employees are afraid to burn their bridges when responding to questions and many interviewers treat the process as a formality when saying “goodbye” to a member of the team.
However, failing to leverage exit interviews properly is a major misstep. In the right conditions, exit interviews can yield important insights that improve training initiatives and expose shortcomings in the current onboarding system.
Exit interviews can help with the hiring process, too. Conducting fair, impartial exit interviews can help provide data to improve onboarding processes and educational opportunities and increase retention in the future. When learning and development (L&D) professionals partner with talent management, they can use insights from exit interviews to improve training experiences inside the organization.
Why Are Exit Interviews Important?
Most folks move on to greener pastures for a clear reason. Some employees are simply offered more money to switch roles while others want to make a career move that suits their family’s needs. However, employers still need to conduct an exit interview even when they believe they understand the reason for the resignation.
Conducting exit interviews can improve reflection and aid internal investigations if the firm is underperforming. A few key questions can quickly uncover the reason for resignation and help managers understand why an employee is choosing to move on.
Exit interviews can help employees address the proverbial elephant in the room. Oftentimes, current employees avoid raising issues if they feel their complaints may reflect poorly on themselves or their colleagues. This may create an unsafe work culture and undermine business growth. Exit interviews can give these employees a safe space to share their concerns and provide feedback that can potentially improve future training initiatives. This is why L&D professionals must train human resources (HR) and talent managers in the company on how to conduct an effective exit interview that will give them the answers they need to continuously improve the learner experience.
Avoiding Bias
When leveraged correctly, exit interviews can give employees a chance to share their honest opinions on the business’s current procedure, policies and people. However, too often, the exit interview is undermined by peer pressure and a fear of reprisal.
Since learning leaders do not typically conduct exit interviews, they will need to work with the HR department, managers and whomever else may be interviewing the employee to determine what types of questions would be most beneficial. This is particularly important if the exit interview asks the employee to assess the company culture or provide feedback about the managerial team.
Consider giving employees an anonymous space to fill out their answers. Be clear about who will read the feedback and let the employee know that their response will not affect their ability to request a reference in the future. This ensures that the firm can collect feedback that makes a difference.
Exit Interview Questions
Exit interviews are only effective if they collect the information necessary to make meaningful company changes. You can use this data to improve your future training materials, address any concerns with your current remaining staff or company structure, or make other changes. This can ensure your future employees don’t face the same issues as the team member who has decided to move on.
Learning leaders should train those who will be conducting the process to ask key exit interview questions like:
- Why are you leaving the company? This simple question gives room for open-ended feedback. Just be sure to preface the question by reassuring the employee that they will not be reprimanded for their response in any way.
- What do you feel the company is doing right and where do you think the company could improve? Oftentimes, employees understand the strengths and weaknesses a firm faces better than its management team. An exit interview can help decision-makers appraise their current training materials and make strategic changes in the future.
- What was your relationship with your manager like? A poor employee-manager relationship can undermine all training initiatives. Just be aware that some staff may overemphasize the strengths or weaknesses of their direct manager depending on their relationship.
- Did the company help you accomplish your professional development and career goals? High-performing businesses use training opportunities to help employees achieve their goals. If employees report that the firm held them back, major revisions must be made to the education and training that employees receive.
- How did this position align with your expectations? This can help hiring managers tweak job descriptions and highlight shortcomings during the onboarding process. This is key when looking to fill a gap left by an employee who has recently resigned.
These questions are open-ended and promote critical thinking. They give exiting employees the opportunity to reflect on the efficacy of the training programs offered to them and help managers revise their approach to leadership. Keep in mind that exiting employees may overemphasize strengths or weaknesses of a company due to feelings of guilt or personal discontent. Those conducting the interview should also aim to make the experience a positive, rather than confrontational, one.
Conclusion
Exit interviews can help leaders make robust revisions to training programs to boost retention and address shortcomings. Even simple questions, like “Why are you leaving the company?” can yield important insights. Just be sure to counteract bias by giving employees a chance to share their thoughts anonymously. This can improve the efficacy of future training programs and boost employee retention for the business.
