The exit interview is often overlooked as an extremely valuable retention and organizational effectiveness tool. The purpose of exit interviews is to understand people’s perceptions and experiences and to get feedback on the job the employee held, the work environment, and the organization. A well-designed exit interview system can help reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction and engagement.
The exit interview should be positive, relaxed and ensure that the employee leaves on a high note. They are excellent public relations. Some employees may even decide to return to your company at a later point in their career.
An exit interview can be conducted face-to-face, by phone, and/or by questionnaire. There is a new wave in outsourcing telephone exit interviews, direct mail questionnaires or electronic questionnaire forms. Some organizations choose to send out questionnaires 1-3 months later, allowing the ex-employee to honestly reflect on their experiences once they have left the situation. As with 360 feedback, keeping exit interviews anonymous can provide more accurate and measurable answers.
Ask yourself the reason for the exit interview. Are there new training initiatives your company is considering? Would the results of the exit interviews help guide the objectives? Exit interviews can be extremely helpful in understanding turnover rate, improving recruiting, hiring and orientation programs.
Exit Interview Questions – Examples
Listed below are sample questions to ask departing employees. Use these questions as a guide for the discussion.
1. What is your general impression of our organization?
2. What was the most satisfying thing about your job or what did you like the most about working here?
3. What was the least satisfying thing about your job or what did you like the least about working here?
4. What would you change about your job?
5. Did your job functions work out as expected?
6. Did you receive enough training to do your job effectively?
7. Did you receive adequate support to do your job?
8. Did you get enough feedback on your performance between merit reviews?
9. What would you improve to improve our workplace?
10. What was the quality of the supervision you received?
11. What could your immediate boss do to improve your management style?
12. Based on your experience with us, what do you think it takes to be successful in this company?
13. Have any company policies or procedures (or other obstacles) made your job difficult?
14. Would you consider working for this company again in the future?
15. Any other comments?
Are you a Director or Manager of Human Resources? Are you developing your human resources division? Take the time to implement or revise your exit interview strategy. Understanding why employees leave can save your company millions of dollars in hiring and training.