Strategies For Making Exit Interviews Count

Summary:

An international financial service company hired a manager to oversee a department of 17 employees and just after a year, only 8 remained. An executive looked at the exit interviews and came to know that the manager lacked critical leadership skills. The interviews also suggested that organization was promoting managers on basis of technical rather than managerial skills.

The greater goal for any company is to retain valued employees. If there is large number of turnover, then it is important to know the reason behind it and the tool for this purpose is “exit interviews”. And many companies don’t even conduct these interviews. An Exit Interview reveals what does or doesn’t work inside organization and highlight hidden challenges.

The State of Exit Interviews

The usefulness of EI depends on the honesty of departing employee.

Overall Goals

Companies should focus on six goals:

1. Companies that conduct exit interviews almost always pursue to uncover issues related to HR
    but often focus too narrowly on salary and benefits.

2. They should understand employees’ perceptions of the work. This can help managers improve
    employee motivation, efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness.

3. They should gain insight into managers’ leadership styles and effectiveness.

4. Learn about HR benchmarks (salary, benefits) at competing organizations.

5. Foster innovation by soliciting ideas for improving the organization.

6. Create lifelong advocates for the organization.

Tactics and Techniques:

After defining goals and assigning ownership, organizations can focus on tactics and techniques. Here are the main factors to consider:

Interviews conducted by second- or third-line managers are most likely to lead to action. Second-line managers (direct supervisors’ managers) typically receive more-honest feedback precisely because they’re one step removed from the employee

Some organizations interview everyone who leaves, and some interview only professional employees, executives, or high potentials. EIs are mandatory for at least some employees, because research has shown that doing so increases the odds that some specific action will be taken.

The most productive moment to conduct the initial EI is halfway between the announcement of an intention to leave and the actual departure.

Companies can get rich feedback by scheduling several interactions —an interview, a survey, a phone call—before and after an employee departs. Many experts advocate conducting one interview while the employee is still there and one a few months after departure.

Interviewers should be trained to listen more than they talk and to avoid displays of authority. They should be patient and friendly, occasionally asking open-ended questions and speaking only enough to prompt the interviewee

A Continuing Conversation

The EI should be the culmination of a series of regular retention conversations with employees focused on organizational learning and relationship building.

Employees should be asked individually in regular conversations why they choose to stay with the company and what might make them consider leaving. Retention conversations can surface professional and personal issues before they lead to turnover.

An effective EI process creates a needed mechanism for companies to systematically learn about and from what is their most important resource: their human capital.