“Was my employee honest during the exit interview?”
“Why is the attrition rate so high in my organisation?”
“How do I stop employees from leaving my company?”
These are some of the most asked questions that employers ask themselves every time someone resigns.
People leave an organisation for various reasons. Some switch for growth, while others might not be happy with the company.
It is important for an employer to understand the reason for frequent resignations. This can help them lower the attrition rate in their organisation. For that, companies arrange exit interviews.
What are exit interviews?
Well, let’s dive into the details of it and its process.
Introduction to Exit Interviews
Remember your last conversation with your manager/HR before you left your previous company?
Well, simply put, that conversation was your exit interview.
It is a conversation that happens between an employer and an employee when they decide to leave the organisation. This discussion is usually led by the employee’s manager or HR.
The motive is to figure out the employee’s experience, reason for leaving, and things that could have been done differently.
But are employees really going to tell you the real reason for them leaving
We highly doubt that.
There could be a few reasons behind it.
- The employee might not want to leave on bad terms.
- Employers might not have an appropriate questionnaire prepared that can help them get the answers they need.
- Employees might not even realise the actual reason, and employers might be unable to help them get into the depth of it.
The Appropriate Exit Interview Process
Do you know 99% of the companies conducting exit interviews are doing it wrong?
Shocking, right?
Do you think your organisation might be one of them? Well, you know the chances.
If you want to be a part of that 1%, then it is necessary for you to understand the exit interview procedures.
Let us help you with it.
Step 1: Finding the Right Interviewer
Mainly, exit interviews are conducted by someone from the Human Resources department of an organisation.
Why?
HR personnel can provide an unbiased environment to the employees. They feel more comfortable speaking their minds without a team member.
In fact, with so much advancement in technology, you can even arrange an interview with AI. These are recorded interviews that eliminate the factor of talking to a person directly, which puts many people at ease.
You can also go ahead and hire an external organisation that offers exit interview services. They can help you identify the real reasons behind attrition. Being an outsider, the possibility of figuring out the truth increases with them.
Step 2: Practice and Prepare Every Time
You might have done several exit interviews in your professional career. But every candidate is distinct. Different roles, different departments, different perspectives, and so on and so forth.
This is why it is essential that before every exit interview conversation, you plan and prepare.
For starters, create an exit interview questionnaire with questions more aligned with the employee you are supposed to converse with. Sometimes, the same questions might not work for each candidate.
Another thing to make sure of is that you block your calendar and make sure everyone is aware of it. Interruptions during these conversations might make the employee reconsider his answers.
Step 3: Let Them Take the Exit Interview Survey
Remember when we talked about preparing an exit interview questionnaire? Make sure you create a written form for the candidate with these questions and make them take it.
Making the employees take a written survey has its own benefits.
One, this increases the chances of getting honest answers. Second, this helps the employer gather written information.
Once the employer has enough data, he can evaluate it to figure out the #1 reason that made employees leave the organisation. This can help him make the necessary changes to make the company more employee-friendly.
Step 4: Make Them Feel Comfortable
Exit interviews are anyway a little stressful for employees. They have a lot on their mind in the last few days. Making sure they have another job to move on to, wrapping up their tasks in the current organisation, and a lot more.
So, it is important that you make them comfortable and at ease during the exit interview. Let them vent out, make them feel heard, don’t interrupt them, and organise the interview in a closed space.
This can help the interviewer get honest answers to the questions he asks.
Step 5: Assure Confidentiality
One of the most important steps you can take to get the most out of every exit conversation is assuring confidentiality to the interviewee.
Ensure that you let them know when and where you might be using the data collected from this interview. This gives them the confidence that they can trust you.
Also, make sure you let them know that you are learning to act upon their feedback. This might give them the push to talk about all of their concerns.
Summing It Up!
The exit interview process is undeniably beneficial for organisations in various ways.
Understanding what exit interviews are and following a well-structured process can change the picture of an organisation.
The process includes finding the right interviewer, adequate preparation, survey participation, creating a comfortable atmosphere, and ensuring confidentiality.
Employers can gain valuable insights into their operations, culture, and employee satisfaction.
These insights enable organisations to make informed decisions, implement necessary improvements, and ultimately foster a more productive and employee-centric work environment.
Embracing the exit interview process not only helps in reducing turnover but also paves the way for continuous growth and development, making it an invaluable tool for organisational success.
If you are struggling to arrange the best exit interview, talk to us and our experts will help you.
Authored by Gouri Maheshwari. To learn more about Originbluy, send us an email at gouri.maheshwari@originbluy.com.
