“The employee is leaving – why do we need to undertake an exit interview?” We understand the basis for this question, does an employee’s thoughts really matter when they are exiting the business – surely any changes won’t affect them! This view, or those like it, are widely shared in the business community; the CIPD note that ‘more than half (55 per cent) of UK employees who resigned from their last job post were not invited to a formal leaving interview’. Through this blog we would like to provide you with another perspective, a viewpoint that highlights the benefits of exit interviews and why you should conduct them. 

Firstly, what is an exit interview? The format of the interview will differ between organisations; however, its overarching purpose is to allow for a discussion between a company and an employee who’s decided they want to leave the business. You want to understand why the employee is leaving as well as gather information that can give you insight into your business and help with employee engagement and satisfaction.  

What questions can you ask an employee? Here are some examples that may prove to be useful: 

• Why did you decide to leave the company? 

• In general, what do you think about working at our company? 

• Did you receive enough training? 

• What support did your manager provide you during your employment? 

• What would make this a better place to work? 

• What are the biggest risks for our company? 

• How would you describe the company culture? 

As with all one-two-one meetings, you want to find a comfortable and confidential space for you both to speak openly and freely; consider holding the meeting outside of the workplace – potentially in a coffee shop. Maybe on this occasion, the employee’s direct line manager may not be the most appropriate person to hold the meeting. You may consider explaining to the employee that the feedback provided by them will remain confidential and only people who need to see it will have access. It is best to hold an exit interview on the last day of employment or as close as possible.  

We understand what an exit is; however, you may still be wondering, is an exit interview necessary? A single exit interview may not hold many key insights on its own. Exit interviews, over a period of time, are able to highlight trends in your business. For example, if eight out ten employees left, from the same department, due to poor management, this is actionable data – you may wish to put into place a training programme for that department manager. Or if your company culture has been highlighted as an issue, that can be looked into and changed. By having the exit interview, you are able to make decisions based on data, instead of opinion, this better enables you to make the right decisions and decisions that are cost-effective. It may be best to wait until the employee has left before you start taking action though.  

Isn’t an exit interview far to late to be gathering feedback?

We would partially agree with this point. In our mind, exit interviews are an essential part of the employee life cycle and a good way of gathering data. However, yes – if exit interviews were your only form of feedback from employees, then yes, it is far too late. We would suggest that organisations undertake regular one-two-ones with employees; these occasions could be used to identify if the employee has any concerns or barriers to achieving their work, and then they can be addressed through this process. The simple act of holding regular one-two-ones and actioning any feedback will a mitigating force to an employee exiting the business.  

Maybe at the start of this blog you were unable to see the benefits of exit  interviews, we hope that you now see a new perspective. If you would like to implement exit interviews into your organisation, or refresh what you have already, please get in contact with me, Laura Campbell, HR Consultant at View HR.