Why Exit Interviews are Important
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Employees are bound to move on from a business at some point in their career and it can occur due to various reasons including:
Termination
Redundancy
Resignation or
End of Contract
Regardless of the circumstance under which an employee’s employment comes to an end. It is important that employers follow an effective offboarding process.
A significant part of the offboarding process is the Exit Interview.
Why is an exit interview important?
Exit Interviews are an information gathering tool through which employers can gain a deep insight into the strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement of the business. As departing employees tend to be more honest whilst providing positive and/or negative feedback and generally express genuine feelings about their time at the company.
Additionally, exit interviews can provide a better understanding of the:
Organisational culture
Effectiveness of internal processes
Effectiveness of management
Nature of the employee job role
Overall employee experience
Moreover, a well-structured interview can also leave a positive impression on the employee, further enabling them to feel comfortable when reapplying for roles in future.
What an exit interview should cover?
Below are examples of some questions that an exit interview should include:
What is your main or secondary reason behind leaving the company/role?
If already accepted a position, what aspects of the position do you find most attractive?
What did you liked most, least and would improve in the role?
What advice would you give to someone who will replace you in your role?
How would you describe your overall relationship with your direct manager?
How would you describe the culture/feel of the company?
Did you feel your learning and development needs were supported in the role?
Do you have any other comments you would like to make?
When is a good time to conduct an exit interview?
This can generally differ from one employer to another. However, the offboarding process generally consists of the following steps and the exit interview should be conducted prior to an employee’s last day of employment.
Employee resignation (letter or email)
Direct Manager to communicate employee departure to the team, HR, Payroll
Trigger offboarding workflow through HRIS (if applicable)
Recruitment Needs Assessment
Transfer of knowledge to Successor
Exit Interview Notification
Employee Exit Interview
IT/Systems Access Revoked
Return of Company Property
Provision of required Documentation (Confirmation of Termination & Continuing Obligations Letters/Separation Certificate/Letter of Reference/Certificate of Service).
Be Proactive!
Exit interviews can also be used as a compliance tool as they can allow certain issues such as discrimination or harassment to come to the surface before it is too late. Allowing employers to deal with such matters before the employee departs. Further reducing the risk of the individual acting on it later, protecting both the organisation and the employee.