Exit Interviews are a cost-effective tool that can be utilised to gain an honest employee perspective of your business and performance, providing the opportunity to improve upon employee satisfaction and therefore overall business productivity! The Exit Interview should be considered as a formal process in response to all voluntary employee separations, with policy and procedure guiding this for a consistent approach, although such process is not mandatory.
This communicative process adheres with recommendations of best practice as it provides an opportune time to vet exiting employees to stay under a differing role or circumstance, increasing workplace culture and staff retention whilst decreasing human resource costs associated with the new hire process and training. It also reduces negative relationships between employers and employees, as employees are given the opportunity to vent and to feel heard prior to leaving, decreasing the likelihood of negative comments and/or expressions towards the business post-employment, cultivating a positive exiting relationship.
As workplaces continue to evolve within the 21st century, we are seeing an increased focus upon workplace culture as it enhances productivity via employee satisfaction and suitability to role. A pivotal component of best practice within any business, is that of reflection, feedback, and implementation for improvement.
Exit Interviews should:
- Be structured and specific to your organisation and aimed at extracting feedback on all areas of service.
- Use open questions that probe employee responses, particularly reasoning for leaving.
- Be organised prior to the employees last day, not seen as rushed or a last-minute thought.
- Provide the employee with a pleasant experience upon leaving.
- Constructively use the interview feedback, collecting and analysing data, to improve the business.
- Be directed at the employee being interviewed, not as a tool too collate information on other employees.
- Have an established Exit Interview process to ensure consistency and equality.
- Always be offered to employees, with employees made aware that it is a voluntary process.
- Be conducted by a neutral employee or an external specialist for an unbiased approach and to ensure all is appropriately heard and reflected upon.
It is advised that the Exit Interview be conducted by an experienced interviewer to ensure that the employee feels comfortable and to see insightful information and feedback extracted that will benefit the business. The Assurance HR Team have specialists trained in personality and interview testing, highly recommended for interviewing within the new hire and exit interview process. Call Assurance HR on 1800 577 515 today to discuss how we can help you.
