Exit Interviews
Why do exit interviews?
According to the Harvard Business School Review’s Making Exit Interviews Count article there are six main reasons why you want to have an exit interview for anyone who is voluntarily leaving your organization:
Uncover issues relating to HR.
Understand employees’ perceptions of the work itself.
Gain insight into managers’ leadership styles and effectiveness.
Learn about HR benchmarks (salary, benefits) at competing organizations.
Foster innovation by soliciting ideas for improving the organization.
Create lifelong advocates for the organization.
The big-picture goal here is to learn how we, as an organization, can improve. What can we be doing to better retain talent moving forward? Focus on actionable insights so you can take what you’ve learned and do something about it.
Who should conduct the interview?
You ideally want the manager of the exiting employee’s manager to lead this conversation or a coach or HR specialist. You want to get honest feedback, so the conversation needs to be with someone who is removed by at least one step from the person who is leaving.
When should the conversation happen?
Ideally, this conversation happens sometime between the announcement to leave and the actual departure date. Research is mixed on the perfect time to have this conversation, so you can pick with works best for your team.
Use active listening during the conversation
In order to make sure someone feels safe to share, it helps to show you are actively listening to their answers. Try to make eye contact, use positive body language, and allow for long periods of quiet, if need be, to allow the interviewee to be thoughtful about their responses. You want to send the message “I really want to hear what you have to say; we’re not in a hurry.”
Types of questions you may want to consider asking:
Reasons for leaving and what influenced their decision to leave
Employee experience and what it was like to work at your company
Role-specific questions and understanding the job scope and set-up
Forward-facing questions and advice moving forward for the company
Some favorite exit interview questions:
What did you like most about working here?
On a scale from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) how would you rate working here?
How did responsibilities and tasks match up with expectations for this job?
What did you like about your work? Was it rewarding, challenging, or too easy?
How effectively did you feel your skills were put to use here?
How much did you learn and grow here?
Did you have what you needed — equipment, resources, training, and staff — to perform effectively?
How was your relationship with your managers and peers?
What did you think of the way you were managed?
Did you feel valued and respected?
Why did you decide to leave?
Was compensation and/or benefits an important part of your decision to leave? How could we make our offerings more competitive?
If you could make any changes, what would you improve about your specific job?
What suggestions do you have to make this a better place to work?
What are the biggest risks for our company?
What advice would you like to give to your team?
Would you ever consider working here again?
Would you recommend others apply for a position here?
Is there anything else you’d like to share with me?