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EXIT INTERVIEW- Purpose, Process and Format

EXIT INTERVIEW- Purpose, Process and Format

We always talk/write about relations and respect every relation. Relation between employer and employee is also one such relation. Gone are the days when people use to stick to one job for rest of their life. The trust is lost and the faith is lost as well from both sides. If an employer is having a policy of hire and fire, employees are also free to change their jobs whenever they want. We are only reaping the fruits from the trees sown by us. Anyway, if you are sitting across the table with your employee for an exit interview, probably that is the last opportunity for you to change his mind and to retain him and if you are able to do it, you are not only brilliant but excellent HR Professional.

As we need experts to take hiring interviews…we also need experts to take EXIT Interviews. Not everyone can take exit interview.

Purpose While attrition is a natural process for organizations, replacing employees is expensive. The cost goes beyond merely placing an advertisement for the opening in a newspaper. It includes training a new employee, staff time for selecting a new employee, lost productivity while the position is open and lost productivity until the new employee gets up to speed. Understanding why people voluntarily leave the company can provide an opportunity for the firm to make changes to reduce turnover rates -- and reduce the associated costs.

The exit interview serves a number of important functions. When trends in voluntary separations are tracked, the firm may be provided a valuable heads up concerning discrimination problems. It can be anything : Discrimination between expertise, Discrimination between profiles, Discrimination between Grades or categories or bands likewise . If a trend reveals an inordinate number of women and minorities are resigning, there could be a lack of advancement opportunities. By exploring these issues through exit interviews, the company can learn about the issue and take corrective action.

Valuable feedback concerning training and development can be obtained during the exit interview. If employees feel they are not properly trained to perform the responsibilities of their jobs, they may leave. If employees feel that the assignments are not matching to their core competence which compel them to perform poorly. Or some may leave when they perceive there is a lack of opportunities for future positions. Using the exit interview effectively can also provide the company with valuable feedback concerning benefits and compensation. This can be both negative and positive. It is equally important to know what employees’ value and what they would like to see changed. The organization can provide a more competitive compensation and benefits package if they utilize this feedback.

The public relations aspect of the exit interview is equally important. The interview is an opportunity for the employer to end the employee's time with the company on a positive note. A new relationship with the departing employee may be created. As the employee departs with positive feelings about the organization, this will be communicated to remaining employees, local community / technical fraternity and future employees. The end result may even be ease of recruiting future applicants.

Check List for the Exit Interview: The exit interview is an interview given to a departing employee. This is usually done for employees that voluntarily quit instead of those that are fired or laid off. Exit interviews offer a fleeting opportunity to find out information that otherwise might be more difficult or impossible to obtain.

1. Think carefully about the information you would like to get before the interview. This greatly increases the odds of a successful interview.
2. Save the hardest questions for the latter part of the interview. Work up to the tough stuff.
3. Be prepared for some bombshells. Expect the unexpected – if it ever is to happen it will happen in an exit interview.
4. Carefully select the interviewer. Look for someone that listens well and is open-minded. It serves no purpose for the interviewer to get into an argument with the departing employee.
5. Throughout the interview stay focused on the employee.
6. Look for open-ended questions that allow for plenty of expression. An example of this might be "how did you feel during your employment with us?" or "how do you feel the company is run?"
7. Try to find out if there were things the departing employee would suggest improving conditions, production or morale.
8. Try to get a good feel for how they viewed their compensation and benefits package.
9. Leave room at the end of the interview for general comments.
10. Take notes of the high points. Get the general idea – it is not essential to get exact quotes. It is more important to listen than write.
11. Immediately after the interview determine whether you would rehire the employee. Mention accordingly in your HR database where rehire recommended or not.
12. Make use of the information gathered. If you do not use this new information then why do an exit interview?
The exit interview provides us with a good mechanism to take a hard look at how your company is perceived. Since the employee is leaving, they will often be more open and frank in their discussions about the company.
Those companies that do not conduct exit interviews miss out on a great opportunity.

Conducting the Interview HR managers are a critical part of the separation process. Exit interviews are traditionally conducted by HR staff members with the knowledge and input of the immediate manger of the departing employee. Using HR managers as interviewers, improves the chance employees will open up and provide more valuable feedback. We need to ensure that exit interview should not taken by same department manager or same HR representative of the employee, otherwise employee will not open up or end up with arguments.

There are a number of key issues to keep in mind. The interviewer should always begin the process on a positive note - perhaps by offering a thank you for the employee's service to the organization. And above all, the employee should always be treated with dignity and respect. In some sensitive situations, employees may even be asked how they would like their departure to be handled with peers. It is important for every organization to ensure that all employees leaving the company (especially those leaving for disciplinary reasons or lack of performance) have been provided due process. Every individual must be given the opportunity to have his or her side of the issue heard. It is always important to provide documentation. If the employee has resigned, a letter of resignation should be included with the termination paperwork.

The primary key to an effective exit interview is preparation. The planning becomes an essential component of success in conducting the exit interview. Interviewers should plan out issues to be covered and the questions to be asked. Structured interviews are recommended with the use of questions prepared in advance.

Questions to be asked in Exit Interview
1. What is your primary reason for leaving?
2. Did anything trigger your decision to leave?
3. What was most satisfying about your job?
4. What was least satisfying about your job?
5. What would you change about your job?
6. Did your job duties turn out to be as you expected?
7. Did you receive enough training to do your job effectively?
8. Did you receive adequate support to do your job?
9. Did you receive sufficient feedback about your performance between Performance Management?
10. Were you satisfied with this company's Performance Management process?
11. Did this company help you to fulfill your career goals?
12. What would you improve to make our workplace better?
13. Were you happy with your pay, benefits and other incentives?
14. What could your immediate boss do to improve his or her management style?
15. Based on your experience with us, what do you think it takes to succeed at this company?
16. Did any company policies or procedures (or any other obstacles) make your job more difficult?
17. Would you consider working again for this company in the future?
18. Would you recommend working for this company to your family and friends?
19. How do you generally feel about this company?
20. What did you like most about this company?
21. What did you like least about this company?
22. What does your new company offer that this company doesn't?
23. Can this company do anything to encourage you to stay?
24. Any other issue you like to discuss?

Introspection/ Probing the Reasons Interviewers usually want to determine the real reasons of voluntary separations. This provides an opportunity to make changes - particularly when the separation may also be impacting other people. For example, management is often cited as a common reason people leave the organization. It is good for the company to know the reasons so they can take corrective action.

To me, the interviewer must move beyond the basic information. It is critical to get beyond the "politically correct" reason that the majority of employees provide when leaving a position. The critical portion of the interview should probe the employee for feedback about the working conditions and how they might be improved. Many employees, however, are reluctant to provide this information. This reluctance often stems from the concern over negatively influencing future job references.

The interviewer should be exploring common threads across all employees leaving the company. Of special concern are the new hires that leave the company after a relatively short period of time. This information can signal hiring problems - if employees are mismatched with their skills or if realistic job previews are not used. If an inaccurate picture is painted of the job, employee expectations will not be met and turnover often results.

If the company is willing to rehire the employee, this should be explicitly stated at the conclusion of the interview. Sometimes the grass is not really, greener on the other side of the fence and employees regret leaving their jobs. The door should always be left open for those employees who would be welcome to return to the organization. In some cases, the interviewer might even explore options for part-time or temporary work rather than lose a good employee altogether.

Follow-up interviews are more likely to be conducted by mail or telephone. Some companies are waiting three to six months before conducting their exit interviews. For this reason, some companies have opted to use a six-month follow-up exit interview. The rationale is the more time that passes, the more objective the feedback information that is provided to the company - thereby providing greater insights - and the less hesitation on the part of the employee to share negative feedback.

Conclusion
With the recognition exit interviews can provide an opportunity for valuable feedback, new approaches are being used. Trends in exit interviews today include outsourcing and automated surveys. Some companies have opted to delegate the exit interview to a third party firm that specializes in conducting these interviews. The rationale is departing employees may be more open and honest with an objective third party. These interviewers are often trained in asking probing questions and can elicit more information.

The information solicited from the exit interview is only valuable if it used. It must be disseminated to the appropriate people within the organization and then actually used to make positive changes. Otherwise, the company has missed a valuable opportunity.

Here I have tried to cover the Exit Interview in its totality. I hope that the information provided herein will be of use to you. A proposed Exit Interview Form is also enclosed herewith . From the personal perspective, I feel that the departing interviews must also be as crucial as hiring interviews.

Written By : Bikram Mishra

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Writers Profile

Bikram Mishra The author has over 12 years of experience in the Service, IT and Knowledge Process Outsourcing industries. He has performed vivid roles in area of

HR Operation, Performance Management, Compensation and Benefits, HR Technology, MIS and HR Strategy. Currently he is Head – Global

Recruitment Centre in with an Banking KPO in Chennai. He has authored articles on HR process re-engineering. If you would like to know more on employee

retention strategies and processes, please write to mishrabikram@rediffmail.com