Your Ultimate Guide to an Exit Interview (Examples)

Whenever employees resign from the offered business position, it is important to pinpoint the reason behind their departure. Whether they have got some exciting job elsewhere or offshoot their current role. Your quest for finding those answers accomplish during the exit interview.

It provides an exclusive opportunity to get insight into why workers are departing your business in the hope of improving employee retention. This article uncovers the optimal details about exit interviews, what makes them work, and some important question examples. Let’s get into this;

What is An Exit Interview?

The exit interview is the last interaction between the parting employees and human resources representatives, either supervisors or managers. Instead of inquiring why they want to join the company, you are inquiring why they are withdrawing. It debunks the reasons for their departure and overall working experience in the organization.

You will get a candid picture of your company’s working environment and company culture through an employee exit interview form to boost employee engagement for the workforce, make a better job description for the future new hire, and improve retention. It helps you learn what needs improvement in your business, and how to make it better.

Why are Exit Interviews Important?

When someone is leaving a job, you must conduct an exit interview process to assess the overall employee working conditions. It allows you to confront issues that need immediate action.

Employees’ honest feedback is crucial to your business’s success. Personally exit meeting offers a deeper look at your workplace objectives and everyday processes. It provides useful information to improve your project management practices.

The exit interview is significant in learning developmental strategies where the company can optimize itself and enhance staff retention. Exit interviews can help set standards in the workplace and reduce employee turnover, which can also help with risk management.

Pinpointing why employees make a decision to leave should be a necessary part of a company’s strategic planning. About 75 % of organizations carry out exit interviews. But what actually makes exit interviews count?

How to Conduct an Exit Interview?

As a professional interviewer, you need a formal policy for an effective exit interview template. You need to consider some key points while conducting these terminating interviews with the departing employees of your organization.

Prepare Questions Upfront

Before having your last in-person meeting with someone leaving your business, think about some things beforehand. Every employee’s role and responsibilities are different, and all employees leave for their own reasons. So, it’s essential to conduct the interview for each individual. Plan ahead when asking questions to ensure they are relevant and beneficial for future analysis.

Select Neutral Human Resource Personnel

After adequate planning, choose someone with a general understanding of the core purpose of the exit interview. Have HR staff members do the exit interview to create an impartial atmosphere and allow employees to share their opinions. They can also take effective action due to the constructive feedback they procure during the exit interview.

A recent Harvard Business Review study shares the breakdown of interviewers;

• 1 per cent; External Consultants
• 9 per cent; Managers overseeing Supervisors
• 19 per cent; Direct Supervisors
• 71 per cent; Human Resource Department

This one per cent by the external consultant is an ideal case scenario. Staff members get a sense of confidentiality with external people. In addition, expert consultants are aware of ins and outs to get the original opinion of workers.

Taking assistance from direct supervisors is quite odd. In 2021, US workers who quit their job cited ‘feeling disrespected’ as the third-most common reason, according to Pew Research Center. It is unlikely that an employee will tell their boss, who might be the source of the problem, about their concerns.

Listen More, Talk Less

It’s the most professional way to acquire valuable information from the parting workers. You don’t need to fumble around about which type of questions you should ask in the exit reviews. Ask open-ended questions politely and analyze the feedback they are providing.

It’s important to intently listen to the exiting employees so you can deeply understand what they’re saying. Listening to employees gives them the feeling that their input is valued by you and your company.

Use Written Survey Tools

Moreover, some employees feel more comfortable in written surveys. For this purpose, you can use survey tools before a face-to-face meeting to scrutinize their thoughts in advance.

You can organize an online survey and get all the responses in writing to use in the future. Through this quick analysis, you can prepare your questions more conveniently. Also, work on improving employee survey response rates.

Hold Face to Face Meetings Instantly

To get the most out of an exit interview, try to hold the face-to-face interaction as soon as possible. It is recommended to hold an exit interview in the employee’s last working days. At this point of his departure, he is still engaged with the company’s working conditions and is open to unburdening his thoughts.

Be Honest and Ask Him to Share His Feedback

Employees who are leaving may be reluctant to provide feedback, so make sure to emphasize the importance of their opinions. Ensure the exit interview is private and inquire if it is okay to share his answers with other staff. Nevertheless, you should assure the employee that their reputation will remain intact.

These things can, later on, assist you in ensuring a perfect employee experience.

What To and Not to Say in An Employee Exit Interview?

√ While communicating with the employee, keep the conversation concise and professional.

√ Don’t be so pushy to take out the information forcefully. Stay out of any arguments or personal issues.

√ Make him feel worthy by assuring him that his feedback is important in attaining the company’s goals.

√ Analyze the collecting data, and don’t forget to note down important remarks.

√ If the employee doesn’t want to answer any specific question, don’t persuade him and move to the next question.

√ Be casual with him but never overlook the purpose of holding an employee exit interview which is to learn about his working experience in your organization.

Exit Interviews Question Examples

The purpose of exit interviews is to gain insights that can be used to improve your system, retention, and engagement. So, here are some questions that assist you in hitting your targeted purpose of the employee exit interview.

√ What made you leave the job and look for another?

√ Have you been supplied with relevant technology, team, and other working conditions during your stay?

√ How can we improve as a company?

√ What were the best and worst segments of your job?

√ Did you feel engaged with the company?

√ Would you have another name for this job position in your mind?

√ Are there any areas in our working system that needs improvement?

√ Do you have any particular views about the manager or director?

√ Did you get effective support from your supervisors during your employment journey?

√ What do you think about how other employees feel about their positions?

How to Use Exit Interview Data Strategically?

Many significant strategies exist to exploit the data gathered from exit interviews. First, analyze and interpret the facts and information received by the departing employee. Then, try to use the insights to improve organizational effectiveness and staff retention. The patterns collected in the data from exit interviews disclose the areas which need solutions.

Analyze your particular department and utilize the data to adjust improvements. Maybe it is a job training session that may need changes or the corporate policies. Perform prudent restructuring of each working body one by one for efficient outcomes.

Use modern software applications to automate your workflow. Revise your onboarding or monitoring process to catch new hires. An amalgam of several solutions might be the perfect choice to boost the engagement rate.

Conclusion

In short, whenever employees decide to leave your organization, it is significant to acknowledge what’s wrong that made them depart. An exit interview is a candid way to inquire about the reasons for their departure more effectively. The parting individual reviews also help you to make improvements for your future employees’ experience.

So, if you are looking for strategies to revamp your HR operations, request a demo with Employee Connect. Employee Connect gives you all the tools to transform your workforce with complete flexibility and control. With training sessions, consulting, and customer support, you can articulate your business needs into well-defined HR management system solutions.