Exit interviews

Scope

Exit interviews are conducted with those leaving the company or a particular department or area, to gather information that can provide insight to details on such things as organizational management that may not always be accessible or gathered during employment tenure.

Regulatory citations

• None

Key definitions

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Summary of requirements

Why conduct interviews? The reasons behind exit interviews include identifying areas of concern or opportunity in the organization. This can involve anything from the organization’s culture to the physical environment. For example, six months ago Trent took over the shipping department. Since that time, four out of five employees from that department left the department or the company, indicating that Trent was unusually brusque in his management style; the problem may well begin with Trent’s management skills.

Trends may also be identified. Exiting employees may indicate that the compensation is better elsewhere, and thus, the organization may want to look into its compensation structure.

If an employee who is leaving is disgruntled, an exit interview may help to diffuse the conflict. The interview may provide the employee with an opportunity to vent frustrations with the company. If the employee believes unfair or unequal treatment has occurred, it would be in the best interest of the organization to deal with the issue before the employee seeks legal assistance.

Who gets interviewed. Exit interviews do not have to be restricted to those who leave the company voluntarily, nor do they have to be restricted only to employees who leave the organization—they can be applied to employees who transfer from one area to another.

Organizations may include employees involved in situations such as restructuring or layoff, to capture their views, as well as employees who are leaving on a strictly voluntary basis. Exit interviews may be voluntary or compulsory; it is up to the organization.

Who should conduct the interview. The person conducting the interview should be someone who understands the purpose of the interview, and how the information may be used. The person should also be able to conduct the interview professionally, which means someone who has the ability to listen and make the interviewee comfortable. Otherwise, an uncomfortable employee may withhold information.

• Neutral party: It’s a good idea to have a neutral party conduct the interview, such as a human resources (HR) representative. The departing employee’s supervisor (or supervisors) is not the best candidate to perform the interview as the employee may not feel comfortable expressing personal views. The interviewer should be someone who was not involved in the daily supervision or guidance of the employee.
• Third party: There may also be a third party involved in the interview, as long as the person is neutral. Exit interviews are not designed as opportunities to change the employee’s mind about leaving, or to discuss past employment performance.

When to conduct the interview. Some organizations conduct exit interviews before the employee finally leaves, including it with the other administrative procedures, such as discussing severance, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), final pay, references, and return of company property.

Other organizations prefer to conduct them soon after the employee has left. Waiting too long can risk having the employee’s focus shift to other things, and losing information. However, waiting a bit may diffuse any fears of retribution the employee may have had, allowing for more open discussion.

The setting. Exit interviews, like performance reviews, should be conducted in a neutral place—not in places such as the employee’s work area or the supervisor’s office. The goal is to make the employees feel comfortable in an impartial environment.

Conducting the interview in a makeshift room may make interviewees think that the interview is not important. If done in the CEO’s office, the interviewees may get the idea that the employer is trying to put on a false front.

How the interview should be conducted. Just what sort of information should be gathered in an exit interview? The reasons for the departure are a good place to start. From there, departing employees should be guided to indicate what they liked during their tenure and what they disliked during their tenure, and why. This may be company specific, but some ideas to consider include the following:

• Selection/hiring process
• Compensation/benefits
• Job duties and expectations
• Training/development opportunities
• Advancement
• Management and supervision
• Organizational culture
• Policies/procedures

General questions may be asked regarding what the employees might miss about the organization or what the organization can do to make the particular position better for future employees. The conversation may be opened up for general input on improvements the employees may see for the department or the organization as a whole. Perhaps the employees would refer colleagues to the organization, or perhaps not. Finding out why may help shed some light on good points the organization may want to highlight, and negative points that the organization may want to work on. The employees may also be asked to provide input on the exit interview itself.

Again, the setting should be conducive to making the departing employees comfortable. They should be told that the information will remain confidential and that they will remain anonymous. The employees should be treated with respect and consideration. Rushing through the process may make them feel that their views are unimportant.

These interviews are best done face-to-face, and not with a survey or questionnaire. The latter may be used as a secondary method, however, if a face-to-face interview is not possible. The employees may not bother to return the questionnaire.

Conducting the interview in person provides the interviewer with more opportunity to gather in-depth information by watching for body language and other non-verbal cues, encouraging the employees to talk, or guiding the conversation to areas that may be only touched on in a survey.

The person conducting the interview should listen carefully and allow the employees to talk, and refrain from defending the organization’s stance. The interviewer should also take notes.

What to do with the information. Just collecting information does little to improve an organization. The information should be reviewed and put to use. It may be compared to employee attitude surveys, consolidated with information gathered from other employees, or evaluated against current employment trends. Other uses include:

• Audits. The information may be used in coordination with an audit of the organization’s HR practices, if elements of employee relations are identified as issues.
• Employee benefit. The information may be communicated to identified, current employees, including supervisors or managers, who may benefit from it. If this is done, the anonymity of the departing employees should be respected.

The organization need not respond to every comment made during exit interviews, however. Some comments may be subjective in manner and may not be representative of an actual problem.