Summary.In the knowledge economy, skilled employees are the assets that drive organizational success. Thus companies must learn from them—why they stay, why they leave, and how the organization needs to change. A thoughtful exit interview—whether it be a face-to-face conversation, a questionnaire, a survey, or a combination—can catalyze leaders’ listening skills, reveal what does or doesn’t work inside the organization, highlight hidden challenges and opportunities, and generate essential competitive intelligence. It can promote engagement and enhance retention by signaling to employees that their views matter. And it can turn departing employees into corporate ambassadors for years to come.
Unfortunately, too few leaders pay attention to this tool; their programs fail to either improve retention or produce useful information. The authors believe this is owing to poor data quality and a lack of consensus on best practices. They suggest six overall goals for a strategic exit interview process and describe tactics and techniques to make it successful. Among their recommendations: Have interviews conducted by second- or third-line managers. Make exit interviews mandatory for at least some employees. And because standard interviews enable you to spot trends, but unstructured ones elicit unexpected insights, consider combining the two approaches in semistructured interviews.
Idea in Brief
The Need
In today’s knowledge economy, skilled employees are any company’s most valuable asset. Thus it’s important to understand why they stay, why they leave, and how the organization may need to change.
The Opportunity
Exit interviews, when conducted with care, can provide a flow of thoughtful feedback and insight on all three fronts. They can increase employee engagement and retention by revealing what works or doesn’t work inside the organization.
The Challenge
Too often, exit interview programs fail to achieve their potential for two reasons: First, the data they produce can be spotty and untrustworthy. And second, little consensus on best practices exists. This article attempts to address both concerns.
An international financial services company hired a midlevel manager to oversee a department of 17 employees. A year later only eight remained: Four had resigned and five had transferred. To understand what led to the exodus, an executive looked at the exit interviews of the four employees who had resigned and discovered that they had all told the same story: The manager lacked critical leadership skills, such as showing appreciation, engendering commitment, and communicating vision and strategy. More important, the interviews suggested a deeper, systemic problem: The organization was promoting managers on the basis of technical rather than managerial skill. The executive committee adjusted the company’s promotion process accordingly.
A version of this article appeared in the April 2016 issue (pp.88–95) of Harvard Business Review.
FAQs
Exit interviews are a valuable opportunity to gather feedback from departing employees and identify areas for improvement in your organization. However, to make the most of this process, you need to accurately record the responses and avoid common pitfalls that can compromise the quality and validity of the data.
How to consolidate exit interview data? ›
How to summarize exit interview results
- Group responses into relevant categories such as work environment, management, compensation, and career development.
- Focus on addressing the most pressing issues that have the potential to impact employee retention or organizational effectiveness.
What are the best practices for analyzing exit interview data?
- Define your goals and metrics. ...
- Use a consistent and standardized process. ...
- Analyze your data qualitatively and quantitatively.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
- Communicate and act on your findings. ...
- Here's what else to consider.
Through exit interviews, Human Resources can lower employee turnover and its associated costs. They can do this by using the feedback gathered in the interview to learn from a leaving employee's experiences.
Do companies care about exit interviews? ›
Companies value data
For one, companies want to know why a worker is leaving, and what specifically lured them away. "It's a place where workers can provide some competitive data, especially if you're leaving the company based on salary or benefits. HR loves that kind of information.
Are exit interviews legally confidential? ›
While you cannot legally mandate that employees participate in exit interviews, you should do all you can to encourage their cooperation. One of the ways you can do that is by stressing that a departing employee's remarks won't be shared with others in the office, unless you're required to share the information by law.
What are the disadvantages of exit interviews? ›
7 Reasons Why Exit Interviews Are Bad News for Outgoing Employees
- 1) A Good HR Department Is Approachable. ...
- 2) A Risk of Reputation. ...
- 3) A Burning of Bridges. ...
- 4) Dismissing Constructive Feedback as Personal Grievances. ...
- 5) Ulterior Motives. ...
- 6) The Confidentiality Illusion. ...
- 7) It's No Longer Your Concern.
Exit Interview
Former employees must follow the normal application and hiring processes and must meet all minimum qualifications and requirements of the position, including any required qualifying exam.
What is the response rate for exit interviews? ›
Research shows that the average response rate for exit interviews is approximately 30%. With just a little extra effort, you should be able to double that response rate. The easiest way is to cheat the system. Simply make the exit interview obligatory.
How do you measure interview data? ›
The 6 Steps of Qualitative Interview Data Analysis
- Read the Transcripts. By now, you will have accessed your transcript files as digital files in the cloud or have downloaded them to your computer for offline viewing. ...
- Annotate the Transcripts. ...
- Conceptualize the Data. ...
- Segment the Data. ...
- Analyze the Segments. ...
- Write the Results.
Collect both quantitative and qualitative data. For example, allowing the exiting employee to add comments or including open-ended survey questions. Acknowledge the employee's time and hard work. Thank the departing employee for taking the time to share their feedback and contributions to the company.
How do you Analyse exit survey data? ›
In this article:
- Overview.
- Understand the Overall Themes. Review Your Response Rate. Assess the Top Reasons Why Employees Leave. Understand Other Perceptions. Look at Trends. Compare Groups.
- Level Up Your Analysis. Connect Exit Survey Feedback to Other Employee Feedback.
According to our research, many companies don't even conduct these interviews. Some collect exit interview data but don't analyze it. Some analyze it but don't share it with the senior line leaders who can act on it. Only a few collect, analyze, and share the data and follow up with action.
Why don't exit interviews work? ›
Perhaps the biggest issue of all, however, is also the most obvious – by the time an exit interview rolls around, it's already too late. From an employee's point of view, if an organisation were truly interested in what they had to say, they wouldn't be in that position in the first place.
Are employees honest in exit interviews? ›
Found a new job? Your soon-to-be former employers would likely conduct an exit interview on your last day — and they expect you to give honest reasons for your departure. But most people would lie, according to one workplace expert.
Do exit interviews go in personnel file? ›
Documents used in the process of employment termination should be retained in personnel files. They may include a termination action form, termination checklist, waivers and severance agreements, and exit interview questionnaires, among others.
What not to do in an exit interview? ›
Things You Should Never Say in an Exit Interview
- Criticizing the employee's performance.
- Taking a defensive or negative approach to the conversation.
- Bringing up gossip or hearsay.
- Attempting to make the employee feel guilty for leaving.
- Rehashing an issue that has already been addressed multiple times.
