EXIT INTERVIEWS: A CONSTIPATED DILEMMA OF EMPLOYEES

This article is not intended to share the knowledge of the exit interviews and their effectiveness but the intention is that it sheds light on the unsaid component during these exit interviews which can prove to be useful to the Human Resources or People Managers team to gauge into their turnover data and find the unsaid reasons of their employees wheather smart or not so smart leaving the organisation.

There is a saying that “all is well, that ends well”, hence there are many employees who have taken this very seriously. This constipated expression is so common that as an HR myself , it becomes challenging to carry out the task of actually making an employee feel good while leaving the organisation.

The reality is not just the failure of HR system and policies that runs in an organisation, but also the way the management wishes to bid a farewell to its exiting employees in a way that buries the underlying improvising truths.

So, why do I use a word like “constipation with exit interview”.

The reason is simple, employees who leave an organisation are in the most strategic phase of their careers that either they can give an honest feedback regarding their workplace constraints, motivation & so on which affected them or they can escape by just giving plain answers of their personal issues/problems. The fact is if genuinely it’s a personal/family problem, it can be omitted with having a smooth exit process with all clearances. But ,the learning pitches in when the matter is different and is answered hiding behind a diplomatic reply wherein the HR needs to learn understanding between the lines is most of them fear certain reasons which may jeopardize their career or leaving with entitlement in question.

Reasons:

· Conflicting Attitude of the Management: Management spreads big things through depicting their values on paper but the truth is as vicious & hollow as them. If the employee speaks the truth about his frustration and angst of the things which are not correct in the organisational context, he/she may be shown the exit door straight away without any answers or feedback in the interview in most of the cases, if not all.

· Exiting employees least bother about an organisation’s growth or fall: The employees who have already decided on the verge of leaving do not seem to give a care in the same way like the organisation does not give a care whether their most precious element is leaving or not. This becomes more vital if a good employee is leaving but is not valued neither cared for.

· No one wishes to leave on a bad note: There are some employees who are absolutely diplomatic when it comes to dealing with serious matters. They go with the flow. They only speak pleasantries and positives, but do wish to enlighten the very reason of their exit inspite of everything being so happening and positive according to them.

The exit interview scenario depicts a plethora of emotional and psychological dilemmas that an employee goes through while being questioned on his faith and feedback of the organisation where he/she has spent considerable time to ace in their professional mixed with personal commitments. So, I believe this situation of being bloated and constipated of answering the questions fearlessly needs to be encountered by the management & HR first.

Solution to this dilemma is:

The framework of this entire process should be made strong & valid with not just exit interview feedback forms or discussion, but an open forum whereby the feedback giver does not feel threatened or neither taken aback of giving improvement strategy to the organisation.

Points discussed in the interview need to be listened carefully and patiently by the HR Team rather than retaliating and defending the scenarios. The data provided in these discussions will prove to bring in the analytical snapshot of the gaps which needs to be worked upon.

Concluding, I would quote a quotation from Edwin Cole” You don’t drown by falling into the water, you drown by staying there” hence every employee needs to be treated with utmost respect and asset even after he leaves the organisation as he/she becomes a mirror of & for an organisation once they leave.