How can exit interviews improve your company culture?

1 Define your goals

Before you start conducting exit interviews, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Do you want to understand why employees are leaving, what they liked and disliked about working for you, or how they perceive your company values and culture? Depending on your goals, you can tailor your questions and approach accordingly. For example, if you want to identify the main reasons for turnover, you can ask about their satisfaction with their role, manager, team, compensation, benefits, and career development.

2 Choose your method

There are different ways to conduct exit interviews, such as face-to-face, phone, online, or written. Each method has its pros and cons, so you need to consider what works best for your company and your departing employees. For instance, face-to-face interviews can allow for more rapport and trust, but they can also be time-consuming and uncomfortable. Online or written surveys can be more convenient and anonymous, but they can also be less detailed and personal. You can also combine different methods or use a third-party service to increase the response rate and quality.

3 Ask open-ended questions

An essential element of successful exit interviews is to ask open-ended questions that invite honest and constructive feedback. Avoid yes or no questions or those that suggest a certain response. Instead, use questions that begin with how, what, why, or tell me. For instance, you could ask: how did you find the company culture? What did you enjoy most and least about working here? Why did you choose to leave? How could we have improved your experience? Describe your relationship with your manager and colleagues.

4 Listen and empathize

Another important skill for conducting exit interviews is listening and empathizing with your departing employees. Show respect, curiosity, and appreciation for their input by not interrupting, arguing, or defending yourself or the company. Utilize verbal and non-verbal cues to demonstrate that you are paying attention and comprehending their perspective. For instance, you can express gratitude for their sharing, acknowledge their frustration, recognize their point of view, or apologize for them feeling that way.

5 Analyze and act

Finally, exit interviews are only useful if you analyze and act on the feedback you receive. Don't let the data sit in a file or a spreadsheet; instead, look for patterns, trends, and insights that can help you improve your company culture. For instance, you can identify the main drivers and barriers of employee retention and engagement, compare the feedback with other sources of data such as employee surveys or performance reviews, share the results with relevant stakeholders such as managers or senior leaders, implement changes or initiatives to address any issues or opportunities raised by the feedback, and monitor and measure the impact of your actions on your company culture and employee outcomes.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?