Partner Article

Exit Interviews - For what purpose?

Exit interviews. We’re all doing them right? Worryingly not. At a recent recruitment seminar I was presenting at only 25% of the business owners in the room used an Exit Interview for all staff departures. More worryingly, most of them didn’t even know what an exit interview was for! So, just why should you be doing exit interviews when a staff member leaves?

When you’ve invested so much time in recruiting, training and developing your employees, only for them to resign, you might be tempted to take it personally. But it’s important at this stage to point out that an exit interview is NOT a forum to change someone’s mind about leaving. Don’t go gung-ho trying to counter offer someone at this stage just because you can’t face trying to find a replacement!

An exit interview is your opportunity to find out what went wrong. Why someone is leaving you. What you could have done differently. What isn’t your business doing to retain its staff. NOT an opportunity to change someone’s mind.

I’m sure you all have specific questions you ask when interviewing for a new recruit but just what should you be asking in an exit interview? Use this valuable time to find out what was good, and what maybe wasn’t so good, about working for your business, working for you as a boss and working in that specific job in your company. Think about:

• What did you like about working here
• What didn’t you like about working here
• Did you feel you had the right training
• How would you rate your time working here out of 10
• If not a 10, how could we have made it a 10
• What would you say about my management style
• How long have you been unhappy
• What appealed about the job you are moving to
• In your opinion what is the main thing we need to do to keep your replacement happy
• If you started here again tomorrow what would be the first thing you’d change

Now don’t be offended by the answers!

Assuming you are going to be looking for a replacement (my direct line is 01937 547095 if you want to talk!); wouldn’t it be best to do everything possible to make sure your new recruit gets the best possible chance of succeeding? Well the exit interview is the perfect platform to learn what went wrong last time and minimise your risk of losing another key member of staff.

I can’t stress highly enough how invaluable an exit interview strategy can be for your business. When utilised effectively, for all staff who leave, you can pick up the problem points in your business that are costing you your best staff. And you’ll identify any quick wins to sort out the problems. Be prepared to look in the mirror though, the problem might be close to home!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Pickersgill .