Exit interviews

At a recent Society for Human Resource Management conference,

presenter Dick Finnegan talked about using "stay interviews" to gather
insights. He asserted that exit interviews are "autopsies that seldom lead
to improvements." 

Exit Interview is final formal meeting between the management and an

employee leaving the firm. It is used as a learning opportunity for the
executive concerned who seeks candid views on work related problems.

An exit interview is an interview conducted by an

employer of a departing employee. They are generally
conducted by a relatively neutral party, such as a human
resources staff member, so that the employee will be more
inclined to be candid, as opposed to worrying about
"burning bridges". Exit interviews are conducted by
paper-and-pencil forms, telephone interviews, in-person
meetings, or online through exit interview management
systems. Some companies opt to employ a third party to
conduct the interviews and provide feedback.

What exactly Exit Interview mean?

 It is a meeting between an employee who has
voluntarily resigned from the organization and at
least one representative from the human resources
management (HRM or HR) department or any other
executive of the organization from any department,
 particularly designated for the purpose of exit
interview.
 The interviewer from the organization's side should
be an un-biased person with maturity and objectivity.
 The representative of HR department or any other
department assigned for exit interview and the
departing employee get into a dialogue based on the
experiences and impressions of the employee about
various aspects of the organization.
 The organizational representative normally facilitates
this discussion.
 Lots of listening during the exit interview is expected
from the organization's representative for achieving
the objectives of the exit interview.
 Exit interview is normally conducted after the
employee's resignation has been accepted.
 It is normally conducted while the employee is still
serving his last days in the organization. At times, the
ex-employee is invited for the exit interview within a
short time after he has physically departed from the
organization.

Staffing solutions company TeamLease Services's

countrywide study found that almost 92 per cent of
employees and managements across industries took exit
policies very seriously, with 99 per cent doing so in
Bangalore and Chennai, and 85 per cent in Mumbai. 
The ‘relieving letter' from the current employer was
becoming an important requirement for formalising
employment in a new organisation. Only about eight per
cent disregarded it. Relieving certificates becoming a deal
breaker for new employers until the skill crisis eases,”
says Ms Surabhi Mathur Gandhi, Senior Vice-President,
IT Sourcing, TeamLease Services. 

About 76 per cent of the employees preferred a personal

exit interview rather than an online one, attributing
‘reliance' to face-to-face interviews. 
The study found that Bangalore (India), the Silicon Valley
of India, lagged in online exit interviews, with only four
per cent of companies adopting them, compared to
Mumbai (29 per cent) and Kolkota (26 per cent). 

Titled ‘Impactful Exits', the survey found that better

prospects and salary hikes motivated employees to change
jobs.

Exit interviews influence on employee

retention
WASHINGTON POST: As the economy recovers,
majority of employees will most likely look for better
opportunities outside their firms, experts have
warned. This critical situation demands employers
to hold on to their top performers.

According to Joyce E. A. Russell, director of the

Executive Coaching and Leadership Development
Program at the University of Maryland's Robert H.
Smith School of Business, most firms have depended
on exit interviews to learn why their employees
decide to leave as they seek acquiring honest
information about the company that can be used to
tackle the reasons why some leave.

But to do this, employers need to ask the right

questions, the Washington Post reported. Mostly,
exit interviews are poorly conducted by ill-trained
individuals who are not really aware about why or
how should they use the information they collect. Or,
employees do not divulge the real reasons they are
leaving the firm, as they are scared of burning
bridges.

However, Russell has suggested that all firms

including the smaller ones should make it a point to
meet with employees before they give voluntary
resignation. Russell suggested that while conducting
an exit interview, the interviewer must ensure that
the information is treated confidentially (i.e., using
the date in aggregate form only and not revealing
who made what comments).

Interviewers are required to be well trained in active

listening and be sure not to go over the top to any
venting done by the employee. Using structured
questions, interviewers can enquire about topics like
the work itself, pay and benefits, training and
mentoring, performance reviews, career growth
opportunities, management issues and the culture
and environment.

Or they can make the employees complete a survey

and mail it in after they have left.

Using an outside person can also be efficient in

providing a neutral party that an employee may feel
more comfortable openly talking with. Although exit
interviews can give way to valuable information, they
only offer a partial picture of how employees feel.

At a recent Society for Human Resource

Management conference, presenter Dick Finnegan
talked about using "stay interviews" to gather
insights. He asserted that exit interviews are
"autopsies that seldom lead to improvements."
Instead with stay interviews, managers allow
employees to know they want them to stick around,
and ask them what they can do to keep them at the
firm. This sends a powerful signal to current
employees that the employer values them and wants
to meet their needs.

Another idea for keeping hold of top talent is for the

company to reward its managers for holding onto
their stars. This would persuade them to be more
proactive about gathering feedback to find out how
their employees feel about working at the firm.
6 Feb, 2012, The Economic Times, News paper 

Objectives of Exit Interviews

 Presence of exit interview system in an organization
confirms the open culture of an organization to the
existing employees as well as to outsiders. They can
then believe that the organization is open to ideas and
criticism; that the organization tries to care and
understand.
 Exit interview system enriches the organization's HR
culture, policies and practices.
 Very useful data and information are collected from
the exit interviews on may aspects about which
organization is concerned e.g. company's culture; its
 policies; it's relationship with employees, customers,
suppliers, community; its systems and processes, HR
policies and practices, health and safety issues, their
own good and bad experiences with the organization
and its various managers etc. Based on their analysis,
organization can bring about many improvements.
 It enables transfer of knowledge and experience from
the departing employee to his successor.
 It can also be used to brief a team on various aspects
of current projects handled by the departing
employee.
 Exit interviews provide a good development process
for the organization's managers who participate in the
exit interviews and also for those managers with
whom the data and information collected from the
exit interviews are shared and discussed.
 Exit interviews can provide lots of useful tips and
information for improving the employees retention
level in the organization.
 In some special situations, an exit interview can even
provide a chance to the organization to retain a
valuable employee whom the organization would
love to retain, even after he has resigned.
 At times exit interview may be used to pacify a
disgruntled employee or to make peace with him,
who might otherwise leave the organization with
 intentions of taking revenge or with a bad taste in
mouth about the organization.
 Cynics may believe the exit interview may be used to
solely capture the information particularly from a
disgruntled vengeful employee in case of future
litigation from him. In few cases, it may be true.
Some Sample Questions for Use by Organization's
Interviewer
(Caution: The questions suggested here are only a broad
guide and not a prescription. So, use them appropriately
applying your own discretion within the framework of
your exit interview objectives and process)
 What triggered your decision to leave? 
 What is your primary reason for leaving?
 Why is this so important for you?
 Any other reasons?
 Before deciding to leave, did you explore the
possibility of a transfer to any other department or to
the other units of the company?
 What could have been done to prevent the situation?
 What are your suggestions for managing such
situation better in future?
 Now, can you suggest what should we do to stop
your going?
 Can you be persuaded to renegotiate the possibility of
staying? And how?
 Would you consider working again for this company
in the future?
 Would you recommend this company to your family
and friends as a good employer? Why?
 What does your new organization offer that this
organization doesn't?
 Would you like to tell us about your new
organization?
 What can the company do to retain its best people
and not lose any more like you?
 Did your job turn out to be as you expected?
 During your stay with the organization what were
your most satisfying moments?
 What were your least satisfying moments?
 Given freedom, what would you change about your
job?
 What could you have done better or more for the
organization if you were given an opportunity?
 What is your opinion on the kind of organizational
and departmental support and guidance you got?
 What additional responsibilities you would have
liked?
 How could have been done to use your capabilities
and potential fully?
 What about the training you got? Your comments on
our recruitment, induction and training systems.
 What kind of training was most useful and enjoyable
for you?
 What would you say about the departmental and
inter-departmental communication and relationships
in the organization?
 Did anyone in this company discriminate against you,
harass you or cause hostile working conditions for
you?
 How well organization’s performance appraisal and
reward system worked for you?
 What suggestions do you have to improve the
performance appraisal and reward system?
 Were you happy with your pay, perquisites, other
benefits and incentives? Any suggestions?
 What are your opinions about the organization as a
whole? Say, company culture, its major policies,
products, customer relations, working conditions etc.
 What are the most important four or five areas that
come to your mind where improvements are required
the most in the company? And what kind of
improvements?
 Do you have any suggestions to help us find your
successor? Any particular person in mind?
  What can we do to enable you to pass on your
knowledge and experience to your successor and
your team prior to your departure?
 How and when would you prefer to pass on your
knowledge and experience to your successor and the
team?
 May we request you to introduce your successor to
your key business contacts before leaving? We will
be highly thankful for this.
 We will be grateful if you agree to give us your
phone number and address on which we can contact
you in future. Is that OK with you?

Who should conduct the exit interviews. 

Genuine interest is a must

It is immaterial who conducts the exit interview as long as
there is a genuine intent to act on the feedback received.
An adept interviewer could provide the necessary warmth
and help the interviewee articulate freely and
unambiguously.

Exit interviews are often conducted as a compliance

measure. Feedback is either interpreted to the
convenience of the immediate supervisor or stashed away
never to be reviewed again. Facilitating separate
interviews with the immediate supervisor, a senior
manager and a peer could bring objectivity to the
outcome.
Best done by an independent agency
Exit interviews yield results if they are conducted by an
independent agency appointed by the company.
Employees would speak freely to someone they perceive
to be unbiased and willing to give them a fair hearing.

Far from a formality

Exit interviews at the junior level should be conducted by
the immediate boss or line manager to gather information
about HR policies and working conditions. But at the
senior level, it should be by way of a face-to-face meeting
with a senior HR executive and should yield information
about his/her perception of the working environment and
organisational policies. This personal session could
further be supplemented with a session by an external
consultant. Efforts should be made to understand
problems and retain the individual if he/she is worth it.