Exit Interview
What is an exit interview?
An exit interview is a meeting with a departing employee, usually conducted by a representative of the HR department or another neutral person. It is an element of offboarding and serves to learn about experiences related to the workplace and the reasons for terminating cooperation.
Why is it worth conducting an exit interview?
The purpose of an exit interview is to learn the real reasons for leaving and to check what employees in the company think needs improvement. During an exit interview, information may appear about the work atmosphere, relationship with the direct supervisor, development opportunities or employment conditions.
Repeated comments help to identify organizational problems and better respond to the needs of employees. You can use the conclusions to improve working conditions, reduce employee turnover and strengthen the employer’s image on the labor market. The interview can also reveal signals of mobbing, discrimination or other problems in the work environment.
How to prepare and conduct an exit interview?
It is worth planning the interview a few days before the end of the cooperation and taking care of calm conditions in which the employee can freely express his or her opinion. The facilitator should remain neutral, not undermine the employee’s decision and clearly explain the purpose of the meeting. The exit interview should be voluntary, so the employee may refuse to participate in the interview or answer selected questions. In larger organizations, it may also be useful to properly train the final interviewers.
During the meeting, it is worth asking open-ended questions concerning, m.in:
- decision to leave,
- cooperation with the team and the immediate superior,
- the work atmosphere and available tools,
- the compliance of the duties of a given position with the arrangements made during recruitment,
- professional development opportunities,
- what could make the employee stay in the company.
Such sample questions allow you to get to know the employee’s experience better and check whether working in our organization has met their expectations.
How to analyze information from an exit interview?
The results of the exit interview are best analyzed collectively and compared with data on employee turnover, satisfaction, non-wage benefits or work culture. A single opinion may be subjective, but similar signals from several people often indicate a problem that requires corrective action.
Thanks to this, feedback can be translated into specific changes and it is better to assess which elements of the company’s functioning need improvement.
What mistakes to avoid during an exit interview?
The final interview should not resemble an interrogation or a rigid exit interview. It is worth avoiding suggestive questions, evaluating the employee, trying to change his decision and reacting defensively to criticism.
Feedback should concern specific situations, behaviors and processes, not the intentions of colleagues. It is equally important to use the collected information – lack of action can reduce trust in the entire process and discourage employees from honestly sharing their opinions.
Exit interview as an element of effective offboarding Exit
interview is part of a broader process of terminating cooperation, which also includes transferring responsibilities, communicating with the team, and organizing approaches and issues related to the organization’s security.
A well-conducted offboarding allows you to say goodbye to an employee professionally, and use the information collected to improve the work environment. Thanks to this, the exit interview can support reducing turnover, developing organizational culture and building the employer’s brand.
