Listen to this stat: Only 54% of organizations conduct exit interviews. My guess is the number is even smaller for companies under 500 employees. Exit interviews get skipped over often, but I’m going to try to persuade you that this very inexpensive step is great for your growing business!
- You might find out the truth about why they left. As a business owner, you want to know if there is anything wrong so you can fix it! Don’t put your head in the sand.
- They get an opportunity to vent. We want resigning employees to know that what they have to say and their feelings are being heard. We like to say, "Be gracious as they leave because their friends and family might become your next customers and employees."
- You might find out that their leader is incredible or awful. That is valuable information to either praise or retrain.
- You might discover issues with onboarding, training, retention, or benefits. Are there any deficiencies they see that we should address going forward? The person who has most recently experienced these processes might see them differently than we do as leaders. This insight is crucial to improving retention.
- Allows us to partner with them to find our future employees. Make sure you ask them to send their friends to you for work. This helps create goodwill and solidify a long-term positive relationship, which is exactly what you want.
- When should you conduct an exit interview? Conduct the exit interview AFTER they leave—2 to 7 days after their last day is the best time. Make it optional!
- Which employees should participate in an exit interview? Everyone! Don’t pick and choose, as this can seem targeted. Inform the employee the day they turn in their resignation letter, so they are not surprised when you connect them with the person administering the exit interview.
- Who should administer the exit interview? A third party should do it! You will get more honest information than from in-house personnel (even your HR team might not get as much truth as a third party). We can conduct these at IO for $150 per interview, or you can use another company, your business coach, etc. Just ensure the person is trained in conducting exit interviews. If this interests you, send me an email at [email protected].
- Should you tell them the interview is confidential? No! This information is meant to be shared with company leadership. Ensure they know their responses will be provided to company leadership to avoid any surprises.
The result will be valuable information. I have never heard of a company that regretted adding exit interviews to their business strategy!
- Did you know we have a free HR video library that could explain some other HR topics for you and your team? We add more all the time, so make sure to check back.
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Operations executive helping manufacturing companies exponentially improve their operating and execution models to improve quality and financial performance.
1 个月Good perspective and spot-on - listening to employees is a simple but often overlooked. Exit interviews are priceless as they are often a little more candid than you will otherwise receive.
THE small business resource for strategy development and execution | Certified senior leadership team coach | Fractional COO
1 个月Cindi, knowing what your company gets right and where it could be better from the perspective of your employees and former employees is a gold mine that too many leaders ignore.
Great advice! All companies and cultures have blind spots and exit interviews are a great way to get straightforward feedback. We recently led our members through what we called "Living in our wake," which included ways to get constructive feedback both personally and professionally (ever conducted a feedback survey with your spouse?!)
Human Resources Professional
2 个月You recommended conducting exit interviews for "all" - do you include involuntary dismissals?
Senior Talent Acquisition at Innovative Outsourcing, Inc.
2 个月Organizations sometimes miss out on valuable insights by not conducting exit interviews, potentially overlooking opportunities to improve and retain talented employees.