Exit Interview Matters

 

What is an exit interview

Exit interview is gathering information and opinions from a leaving employees to assess the overall employee experience within the organization to identify new opportunities to improve quality of organization and it’s working environment(Muller, 2020).

Most well organized and reputed companies conduct exit interviews when leaving their employees.  But Many companies don’t even conduct exit interviews. Some companies conduct interview just sake of following standard HRM procedures But they don’t analyze the data gathered from the exit interview .

Some companies handle a proper exit interview, and they independently analyze data, and they even prepare very comprehensive reports but do not share the outcome with senior line leader to take necessary actions. However very few collect, analyze, report and even follow up the entire process and they are getting a significant advantage in terms low employee turnover and high performance from employees.

Importance of exit interviews

Since we are dealing in a knowledge-based economy, the key to organizational success is skilled employees. Hence it’s a necessary for organizations to know why they leave , why they stay and how the organization needs to change for them to deliver a better outcome. 

Since we established exit interview is an important process , next is to find out how to get the maximum out-come , data or rather honest opinion of person who leave the organization. Its not an easy task. They may not want to say anything negative about their supervisors or might not express their honest opinion. They might think now that I am leaving it doesn’t matter.  As one HR leader at a European mining company puts it “Are they really going to tell you they’re leaving because they don’t like their boss? Probably not, because they want references.” So interviewer should have to be smart enough with following to get a honest opinion or correct reason for leaving.

Timing and frequency – Timing or the date of the exit interview and how many interviews are crucial factors. Soon after handover the resignation notice can be too early as employee’s emotions and mentality will not let him properly express his or her ideas because of the initial rush and all. But it should not be the last day or week as employee has checked out mentally. after the initial rush of emotion has died down, but before the employee has checked out mentally. 

So experts argue that first exit interview should place halfway between the announcement of an intention to leave and the actual departure. And another interview after leaving the company may be after one month. Then they are more relaxed and will speak freely. This second interview can conduct over the phone.

Interviewers should be smart enough to listen more than they talk and to argue. People willing to talk more openly to second line managers (Direct supervisors managers). Since they have power to follow-up immediately and effectively. Further it’s important not to make the employee feel he has to defend his or her choice (Spain and Groysbeg, 2016 ).

Finally we can see that exit interview is very important and it should handle properly and smartly  

References

Muller, D., 2020. Purpose & Importance Of Exit Interviews [10 Reasons To Conduct Them]. [online] Hracuity.com. Available at: <https://www.hracuity.com/blog/importance-of-exit-interviews> [Accessed 23 July 2021].

Spain, E. and Groysberg, B., 2016. Making Exit Interviews Count. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: <https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count#:~:text=Exit%20interviews%2C%20when%20conducted%20with,t%20work%20inside%20the%20organization.> [Accessed 23 July 2021].