Exit Interviews: How Can They Benefit You?

It’s never a good feeling when someone decides to leave your organisation to join another company.  There are often feelings of wasted time, disappointment or confusion from hiring managers and leadership.

People move companies for many reasons, some include increased opportunity, pay or benefits, other reasons include improved culture, management or mentorship. Whatever the reasons, you should find out what they are so you can take action and prevent your greatest people from leaving you in the future.

What is an exit interview?

Top topics to cover in exit interviews

How can an exit interview benefit you?

Why get this information from employees who are leaving?

Show that you care

What is an exit interview?

An exit interview is a conversation with someone internal such as HR or a manager and an employee who has decided to leave the organisation.  Sometimes it involves a third party such as an external agency. Exit interviews encourage confidential and honest feedback which can be used to gather insight on what needs to be changed to improve your employee experience.

It is a tool to identify the following:

• What drives an individual to leave?

• The aspects of the company the employee valued and enjoyed

• What improvements the individual thinks need to be made to encourage tenure and employee engagement

Top topics to cover in exit interviews

• Job Satisfaction

• Company satisfaction

• Thoughts on support, management and mentorship

• Reasons for leaving

• Frustrations

• Culture and environment

• Team

• Compensation and benefits packages

How can an exit interview benefit you?

Employee turnover is costly. Not only is it expensive to find new talent, but it is also expensive to onboard, train and replace people.

Great companies often invest in great onboarding and training, and it’s easy to see why.  The benefits of great onboarding include increased tenure, productivity and engagement; however, many companies neglect to invest time into an exit interview.

By providing a thorough exit interview, companies can gain valuable insight into what internal issues they may have. Without knowing why people are leaving, companies can’t make the changes that are needed to improve.

Why get this information from employees who are leaving?

Getting regular feedback from all employees is important and helps companies understand whether their employees are happy or not; however, getting insight from people who are leaving provides feedback that is often unfiltered and honest.

Asking people questions such as ‘Why did you start looking for another position?’ gives companies insight into what they could do better.

Analysing the data that is created from these interviews allows you to pinpoint critical reasons why people leave, shedding light on what employees are thinking, what problems the organisation has and what you can do to help improve the issues.

Show that you care

Even when someone decides to leave you, it’s important your core values are always at the forefront of your actions. Conducting an exit interview shows you care about your employees (even the ones who decide to leave you) and demonstrates that you’re interested in why someone is leaving you.

Just as it’s important for employees not to burn bridges with you when they leave, as an employer, it is arguably more important. Platforms such as Glassdoor can easily be used after an employee exits the company, allowing ex-employees to be open about their negative experiences.

Ignoring the reasons why someone is leaving can be detrimental to your team’s success. Identifying and addressing potential issues is essential if you want to build a successful team and company.