Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

EXIT INTERVIEW- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

Introduction:

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. 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. 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, the local community and future
employees. The end result may even be ease of recruiting future applicants.

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

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 you were managed 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 if you would rehire the employee.
Assume they will reapply.

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.

Human resource managers are a critical part of the separation process. Exit
interviews are traditionally conducted by human resource staff members with the

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

knowledge and input of the direct head of the departing employee. Using human
resource staff as interviewers, improves the chance employees will open up
and provide more valuable feedback.

 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?

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

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 voluntary separations are
leaving. 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
firm to know the reasons so they can take corrective action.

 To mine the exit interview for the gold that is available, 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.

Then the interviewer might explore the timing of the departure. That is, reasons
why the employee chose to leave at this time may be important. This will
determine if conditions changed or things just came to a head.

 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.

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

Follow-up interviews are more likely to be conducted by mail or telephone

today. 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 firm - 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 computerized 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.

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

EXIT INTERVIEW FORM

Employee Name Immediate Head

Division/Department Job Title

Hire Date Termination Date

1. Why are you leaving this Organization (<Name of Organization>)?

2. What circumstances would have prevented your departure?

3. What did you like most about your job?

4. What did you like least about your job?

5. What did you think of your immediate head on the following points?

Almost Always Usually Sometimes

Never

Was consistently fair ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Provided recognition ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Resolved complaints ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Was sensitive to employees' needs ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Provided feedback on performance ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Was receptive to open communication ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

6. How would you rate the following?

Excellent Good
Fair Poor

Cooperation within your division/department ( ) ( ) ( )

( )
Cooperation with other divisions ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Personal job training ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Company's performance review system ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Company's new employee orientation program ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Rate of pay for your job ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Career development/Advancement opportunities ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Physical working conditions ( ) ( ) ( )
( )

Comments:

7. Was the work you were doing approximately what you expected it would
be?

Yes No

Comments:

8. Was your workload usually: Too heavy ( ) About right ( ) Too light ( )

9. Would you recommend the company to a friend as a good organization

to work for?

Most definitely ( ) With reservations ( ) No ( )

11. What suggestions do you have to make this organization a better

place to work?:

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 Exit Interview- Purpose, Process and Format!!!

Human Resources Representative Employee

Date: Date: