How to make the most of an exit interview

“Never waste a good crisis”, attributed supposedly to Winston Churchill, could be modified to “never waste an exit interview”, for an SME business like yours.

By no means will every exit be a crisis, some you may be inwardly celebrating! But in most cases, you will be able to extract useful information that will help you improve an aspect of your business – whether that is team dynamics, operations, remuneration, training or maybe something unrelated to HR like customer service.

There are other potential benefits too. If you really don’t want them to leave, it may be a final opportunity to turn it around, although it may be too late by this stage. It is also a platform to ensure you go your separate ways in good standing – important to you in the age of Glassdoor.com and the like.

Setting up the exit interview

Consideration into the timing and preparation will make for a more useful interview.

Get a process in place, or sense check your current process, based on the information we are sharing here. A good process will help it feel like second nature for your organisation going forwards, making it easier to follow. 

An SME may be limited by its headcount as to who conducts the interview. If you have someone that leads on HR they would be a good choice (we offer this as a service if you don’t), but otherwise a relevant person like the line manager, or the next most senior person.

While it should be structured, you don’t want it to be over formal; they don’t have an obligation to attend, or to be candid with you. 

Counter-intuitively, try not to leave it until their actual exit day. It may end up being rushed or missed altogether, but you don’t want to do it too early either. At some point in their final week is sensible timing.

You’ll definitely want a private place to carry out the exit interview. You could do it somewhere neutral too, like a nearby café. Let them know that the primary purpose of the interview is for organisational self-improvement.

During the exit interview

Always keep in mind your objectives: finding organisational weaknesses, leaving on good terms, and in some cases even trying to change their minds. You might have a bank of questions to draw upon, with your on-the-day choices tailored to the individual sitting before you. Here are some starter ideas:

• What were your reasons for leaving the company?
• When did you start looking for other jobs?
• What were the most enjoyable and most frustrating parts of your job?
• Were your team dynamics satisfactory?
• Did you feel sufficiently supported by your manager?
• Were you offered the right training to perform your role?
• Were their enough career opportunities here for you?
• Based on your own experiences, what would be the top suggestions you have for improving company culture?
• Can you tell me about your career plans now you are moving on?

To allow for more thoughtful answers, you may want to send them the questions you choose in advance.

After the interview

Respect your (ex-)employee’s privacy. The information gained is for the purpose of organisational improvement. If there are points raised which require any response other than this, get their consent to pursue these matters.

The answers will of course be subjective, and won’t all require action. But if anything stands out to you, or you notice a pattern after doing multiple exit interviews, it is a golden opportunity to enhance your company.

The rewards to you may be better retention, productivity and company culture: all vital for your ongoing success.

Help from The HR Dept           

We help SME employers with every part of the employment lifecycle. So if you need assistance putting an exit interview process in place, or would like help implementing change based on the feedback from exit interviews, please get in touch with our local office.