To put it simply, an exit interview is an interview which is conducted with an employee who is leaving the company. It’s rather similar to when you’re employing someone for a role, but instead of asking questions about why they want the job and why they want to work for you, you’re asking them for their reasons why they have left the job.
This interview can be the key to solving many issues within the workplace and is a great chance for you to find out what areas your business is succeeding in and what areas perhaps need developing.
So, what are the benefits of an exit interview?
1. It’s cost-effective
Taking into account that exit interviews don’t take up too much time, incur a little cost and provide valuable information, they are definitely a useful tool which you can to add to human resources. Going through the strengths and weaknesses of the business with your employee in the form of a chat or an interview is also really easy to conduct and is a small investment which will reap maximum rewards.
2. You will learn and understand why people leave
Learning why individuals choose to leave your organization will provide you with the details you need to fix the issue. The reasons are likely to vary from person to person and you need to understand whether it is a fault due to the organization, management or circumstances beyond your control. Possibly the employee was offered a role elsewhere with a higher salary, perhaps they are not seeing the progression that they were promised or maybe they are coping with personal issues which have caused them to leave. Knowing why someone has left will allow you to address any issues so that it doesn’t happen again.
3. You will identify any problems within the company
If you’re thinking about conducting an exit interview then you obviously want to improve your business. You want to create a place where people want to work. Exit interviews offer you with the information you need to make the working environment better for employees and also to improve retention. A lot of questions asked during an exit interview refer to the working environment. It can be difficult to know how employees feel at work whilst under your management. Some questions you could ask include “do you believe your job description has changed since you were hired?” and “what do you think the company can improve on?”
4. Closure
Exit interviews give you the chance to tie up any loose ends with an employee who is leaving. As well as asking questions about why they chose to leave, you’ll be able to provide them with information about their final pay and go through any documents which need to be completed by their last day. It’s also nice for both the employer and employee to leave the working relationship on good terms.
Although you won’t find out everything you would like to know in an exit interview, it’s a great place to start in gaining an insight into why people leave. Receiving constructive criticism and putting improvements into place will provide a better experience for current employees as well as any future employees.
About the author: Lauren Buck is a Criminology and Psychology graduate, freelance writer, blogger and Etsy store owner. She writes about a variety of topics including student and career advice for Inspiring Interns, which specializes in placing graduates in the best London roles.
