An exit interview of an employee is the final meeting between a departing employee and management: by termination or resignation.
An online/paper survey, in-person or telephone interview are the best ways to conduct andimprove exit interviews.
It collects honest comments about their experience in the firm, the reason for departure/resignation, ideas, and areas for development.
Exit interviews (EI) frequently reveal concerns that were previously undisclosed to HR.
It might be about the manager's leadership style, workers' perspectives on work, remuneration and benefits, corporate goals, company culture, and so on.
Exit Interviews reveal how employees feel about their working circumstances, corporate goals, company culture, teammates, and so on. This will provide light on how the organisation is operated, if there is unconscious prejudice in recruiting and promotions, teamwork, and so on.
You'll learn how much your rivals are paying, what amenities they provide their employees, how much time off they have, and who is poaching your personnel.
When managers fail to execute their jobs, companies frequently experience an outflow of staff. They frequently discover this during EIs and may take the required steps to avoid losing brilliant personnel.
Employees can provide their perspectives on how to improve items that have previously been unexplored by the company. Employees may have worked at many locations and seen various methods of doing things that can be applied in your firm.
When you treat ex-employees with dignity, they are more inclined to promote your brand and suggest your business to others.
Whileexit interviews are necessary for a business to progress, make better choices, and reduce turnover rates, most firms are unaware of how to conduct these conversations effectively.
Here are a few steps to take:
Determine exactly what you want to learn from the departing employee. However, these are not the only things you should ask the employee. Pay attention to their responses, pick up on their clues, and take note of their criticism.
Talk about the potential of keeping the employee. Tell them about the positive parts of working for the organisation, explain how you plan to rectify the problem, and solicit any positive comments they may have for the company.
Allow people to express themselves, critique the company's processes, and offer their thoughts. Companies receive honest responses and may try to improve them as a result. Allow them to express themselves if necessary; after all, people prefer to be heard.
Inform them of how offboarding will be handled, who they should return the equipment to, how leaves will be encashed, and so on.
Employees are more often proactive if they know how their comments will be used. Tell them how you intend to address their concerns and recommendations, and assure them that they will not be penalised for raising them.
What was it that compelled them to make such a decision? This is the exit interview's principal goal and objective.
Utilising a tool likeuKnowva HRMS can help you avoid mistakes and guarantee that all of this occurs in a timely and effective manner.
uKnowva HRMS tools include all types of human resource management procedures. This involves the automation ofexit interviews and employment termination.
The decision to terminate employment can be communicated automatically with its aid. HR specialists can provide counselling online, anddeparture interviews may be handled in an automated manner as well.
Furthermore, final settlements may be authorised immediately, eliminating the need for an HR manager to go through superfluous minutiae,making employee exit easier.
These final settlements also provide employee and employers every minute detail on the HRMS portal to smoothen andease the offboarding process.
We all know nurturing employees is important. Equally important is how you take the information about the perceived company culture from departing employees.
Such information helps you in improving the organisation’s currentemployee retention score.
When departing employees debrief you about their impending or unsolved issues, you can focus on areas that need realignment/readjustments.
Most likely, departing employees will be more truthful to you as they have nothing to lose. They do not fear losing their job as they’re already leaving.
So, their feedback on your existing company culture will be most objective, probably free from usual bias.
Pay heed to the questions listed below to gauge better feedback from your departing employees. These help you in breaking the ice or confusion between you and your employee.
These questions are useful in conducting anexit interview with your departing staff whenever possible.
This is one of the straightforward questions. Answering this will be tough for some, but others will help you in knowing where the troubling point in the culture is. If they remember the exact moment, it will be more fruitful.
Their reason for looking for another company or job position is equally important. It tells you how your company was not serving the employee in their best interest. And then it will show you the timeframe of that incident.
This way, you as an HR can prepare for similar episodes in the future to improve your firm’semployee retention score. If the situation is unavoidable, be better prepared for a rise in attrition rate during that period.
It takes time for an employee to make a decision to leave a job. It’s harder for them to leave after 2-3 years of involvement in their current job roles/responsibilities. However, even after such a scenario or experience, the employee decides to leave.
It means there must be a strong reason for breaking their current involvement with the company. Knowing that reason is crucial for the reporting and hiring manager.
This answer gives them a clear picture of what went wrong and how – especially for senior or experienced employees. Paying attention to those mishaps, you have another chance to improve youremployee retentionrate the next time.
Anemployee exit interview becomes more interesting and insightful with these questions. Firstly, many employees might not tell you what is being offered to them in another job role. However, if they think you can give them a better offer, they will surely tell you the same.
Later, you can discuss the scenario with the management to decide on any counteroffer if possible. Otherwise, you will have one breaking point where employees can consider shifting for better job roles and opportunities.
This answer also justifies what the other company offers more than yours for the same role.
That’s another important question to be asked in the exit interview from the departing member. Answering this question might take time for the employee. They must go down their entire employee journey memory lane, regardless of duration.
They might jot down some points for you. Many might already be resolved or are in the pipeline to nurture the talent well.
That will be possible while usingdigitally transforming uKnowva HRMS for increasing employee engagement rates at every click.
Besides, these employees might not enlist all the points they remember while answering the question. Whatever points they tell you, pay attention to those. You will have to investigate why you lacked in nurturing the employee considering those parameters.
This answer or listicle could actually be quite eye-opening for your strategy and policymakers. They will have to reshape and redesign the corporate culture if there are many loopholes.
At least your next employee will be nurtured well if those points are very serious and demanding.
For example,
It could be related to the firm not focusing much on employees’ working hours, overtime, due incentives/recognitions, andmental well-being. Those are some serious allegations a company must repeatedly and consistently work on.
This is another interesting question to ask your employee during an exit interview. Human resource professionals can list potential and high-performing candidates who want to return to the company later.
That would mean company culture is on the right path even if offered salaries or perks are currently limited. If employees refuse to return, your human resource professionals still need to work proactively in fine-tuning the culture.
Employees might leave today for better salaries, but company cultures are distinct and often attract ex-employees back.
However, a bad or unfavourable culture will bear more losses. It creates a negative impact and reputation. Ex-employees do not wish to return, nor do they recommend the company to anyone else.
Such a bad reputation spreads steadfast in the labour market. Soon, acquiring new employees will become more costly than nurturing the existing ones.
However, that’s usually the case. But with a bad reputation and employees not wanting to return, the cost of new hires will be almost unbearable. It shows your company will be limited to existing talent. Entry of new talent will be in jeopardy.
That directly impacts the current employee retention rate. If existing employees find no new hires, it shows them there’s something wrong with the company.
They would want to make a switch where the culture constantly involves and welcomes fresh talent to extend their networks.
There are 100s of employee exit interview questions to be asked. The more you ask, the more you will know about your current company culture from an objective perspective. However, when your time with the ex-employee is limited, utilise it well.
The above-listed questions are the most important ones to improve employee retention scores next time.
Contact us here for a callback!
ISO 9001 Quality ManagementISO/IEC Information Security Management
