Exit Interviews and their benefits to your company and your employees

An Exit interview is an important process for both employers and employees alike, as it provides an opportunity exit review where both sides can express opinions about the workplace. The goal of an exit interview is to find out what could be improved, and why an employee is leaving their position, while also keeping an open dialogue between employers and employees.

Benefits of an Exit Interview

When exit interviews are conducted properly, they can be incredibly beneficial both for employers and employees alike.  These include:

Improved Employee Understanding

Exit interviews are an opportunity for employees to be heard and have their feelings validated. When employees are given an opportunity to voice their insights during an interview, it can lead to an improved understand of:

• Increased job satisfaction
• Improved morale
• Increased communication between employers and employees

 Improved Employer Understanding

Exit interviews provide employers the chance to understand how employees view the workplace, as well as an opportunity to prove to employees that their contribution is valued and appreciated. Taking employees’ insights into account can help employers to improve:

• Their workplace culture
• Retention rate
• Recruitment efforts

 How to Conduct an Exit Interview

Timing

We have found that an exit interview is best conducted during the notice period, but not necessarily on the very last day.  The employee is often emotional, or firmly looking forward and not wanting to look back.  A week or two before their leaving date seems to work best.

Questions

It’s important to ask the right questions during an exit interview so that the employee feels comfortable and willing to open up. Some questions you may want to consider asking during an exit interview include:

• Truthfully, what factors motivated your decision to leave?
• Do you have any feedback you’d like to share about your experience with the organisation?
• Did you feel respected and valued in your role?
• What do you think the workplace environment was like?
• How would you improve the working environment here if you were running the company?

The Importance of Following Up

Following up with employees after an exit interview is an important step in the process. Employers should analyse the data collected from interviews to gain insights on how to improve the workplace, and take action based on the feedback provided by employees. This can provide employees incentive to provide honest and valuable feedback during their interview.

Conclusion

Exit interviews are an essential process that can benefit both employers and employees alike. By collecting honest feedback from employees, employers can better understand the workplace environment and take action based on the insights collected. In summation, properly conducting exit interviews is essential to any successful workplace.