How To Handle An Exit Interview

Statistics About Exit Interviews

• 91% of Fortune 500 companies conduct employee exit interviews, and 87% of mid-sized companies do the same.
• 60% of HR professionals take action after an exit interview by updating job descriptions, addressing comments about management and reviewing employee salaries.
• 70.9% of exit interviews are handled by HR departments handle 19% had the departing employees direct supervisors do it 8.9% delegated the job to the direct supervisors manager, and 1% turned to external consultants.

Dealing With The Fallout

Sometimes a situation like Stubans wrathful email will happen despite your best efforts. If it does, there is no point in pretending it didnt. Instead, organise with management to talk about it with everyone. Make sure everyone invests face-time in this problem so you can say, lets learn from this experience, Karen recommends.

Investigate and see if it was just the final words of a bitter person or whether his feelings are more widely held. If its the latter, the exit interview can be a springboard to addressing organisational problems, clearing bad air, and moving toward a brighter future.

For more information on how to handle an employees exit from your organisation, including an exit interview form and a departure list, go to the AHRI assist webpage on the topic.

Why Hr Conducts Exit Interviews

Exit interviews are about the company.FlexJobs Career Coach Tracy Capozzoli explains. The purpose of the exit interview is for the employer to learn about the position and the reasons for turnover. Given that 91% of Fortune 500 companies and 87% of mid-size companies conduct exit interviews, it would seem that employers do care about what you think.

Your soon-to-be-former employer wants to know why youre leaving. And, theyre trying to see what they can do going forward to keep other employees from leaving. So, instead of being apprehensive about the interview, Capozzoli advises people to view the interview as an opportunity to think critically about your experience. What did you learn? How might the company improve?

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How To Handle An Exit Interview

Exit interviews are tricky. Heres a quick guide.

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An exit interview is your window to give the soon-to-be-former employer some relevant feedback.Founder & CEO of FlexJobs Sara Sutton has some advice on what to say in an exit interview. Be strategic and honest about the reason why you are leaving. If you had concerns with lack of training, untimely feedback, and poor professional development, then bring that up in the interview. This will help the employer course correct. In case you did not get along with your manager then perhaps say something on the lines of, we didnt always see eye-to-eye, but we managed to succeed on multiple projects. When asked what you disliked about the job be tactful and professional in your answer. How did you fare in a recent exit interview? Share your experience in the comments below. Source:: Sonal Gupta: Getty Images#exitinterview#exitstrategy#interviewprep#interviewtips#quityourjob#exitplanning

What Was The Biggest Factor That Led You To Accept This New Job

Of course, you dont need to feel pressured to share all sorts of details about the position youre moving on to. However, you should be prepared to hear a few questions along those lines. The people in charge simply want to get an idea of how theyre matching up with other organizations in the same industry.

Perhaps the pay at your new job is way better, and your employer needs to reevaluate its salary structure. Or, maybe something about the company culture really appealed to you. Whatever it is, sharing that information helps your employer to stay on track with its competitorssomething thats undoubtedly important when attracting new talent.

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Why Is Conducting Exit Interviews And Surveys Important

The hiring process is expensive and can take a long time. If at the end of it you employ people who stay with your company only briefly:

• You waste time and money on recruitment
• Every time someone leaves, a bit of company knowledge or process goes with them
• Leavers may also be detractors, affecting your company reputation

By providing departing employees with the opportunity to give honest feedback, you can gather valuable insights to improve the employee experience for both current and future employees.

Typically, only about a third of employees leaving an organisation complete an exit interview. Given the potential richness of exit information, all employers would benefit from encouraging every leaver to respond to exit surveys.

An exit survey is a means to an end. The goal is not to prevent the employee from leaving. Instead, it is to learn and use it to gain insights to help retain talent, prevent bad hires, improve management practices, and ultimately drive better organisational performance.

It really does pay dividends in the long run to invest time, energy, and care into finding out why people are leaving, in order to minimise future attrition.

Should You Use The Same Questions Every Time

Definitely. By using the same questionnaire in all of your interviews, you can systematically evaluate and analyze the results. That is why it helps to be thoroughly prepared beforehand.

If the same criticisms, based on the same questions, come up repeatedly, that would serve as an immediate signal that something is wrong. In addition to that, it helps to check to see if any of the initiatives you have taken are then reflected in feedback from future ex-employees.

In general, ensuring the consistency of these processes means having an effective offboarding process, more generally. That is why an HR software, like Personio, is so important, as it can help:

• Store questionnaires.
• Keep a record of findings.
• Make sure that every step is carried out, every time.

Learn more about Personio, and our all-in-one HR software solution, by .

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Why Are You Leaving Your Position Or What Led You To The Decision To Leave

Your employer may ask this question to find out if you are leaving because you have been offered a better opportunity or for personal reasons. Try to maintain a balance between honesty and politeness when answering this question. If applicable, mention the skills or experience youre hoping to get from your next job.

Example:I have really enjoyed working here, and I have learned a lot over the course of my employment. However, I feel like I have accomplished all I can in this role and need something different. While I have learned much at this job and honed my skills and experience, I feel it is time to go in a different direction. I have gained invaluable experience for the future, and I feel the time is right to expand my experience and strengthen my abilities.

Read more: How To Explain Your Reasons for Leaving a Job

Did You Have The Tools To Succeed At Your Job

Why they ask it: An employer should give you the things you need to do your job. This isnt just physical tools, like a computer or phone. Tools include training, professional development, mentoring, and timely feedback. HR is asking if you had what you needed to succeed because if you didnt, it might be something they can provide current and future employees.

How to answer it: This is a case where you can probably be more honest than with other questions, but choose wisely. If your biggest problem was a loud office or a lack of training, bring these things up as they may be easy to fix.

For example, Im not really a fan of open office plans. And the bench-style seating didnt work for me. It was very distracting. Also, I would have liked to receive feedback about my work more often than I did. Im not the kind of person that likes to wait for my annual evaluation to see how Im doing.

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Secure Your Reference In Advance

Every organization asks for a list of references from your previous organizations for cross-checking.

In which case, it is best to ask for references from your colleagues and boss/manager at least 2 weeks before your exit interview.

Although rare, this can help you avoid sticky situations later on where your references could be withheld.

What To Say In The Exit Interview So You Leave On A Good Note

Not every organization conducts exit interviews, but for many, they are standard procedure when an employee leaves. Employers hold exit interviews either in person, over the phone, or sometimes even by an online survey in order to get valuable feedback about an employees experience with their company and to gain deeper insights into things like company culture, work environment, morale, management performance or any other work-related issues the employee had.

If youre asked to participate in an exit interview, youll likely be asked some version of the following questions:

• Why are you leaving?
• What were the best and worst parts of your job?
• How happy were you with things like salary, benefits, perks, time off, the office environment, etc?
• How do you feel about your managers or supervisors?
• How do you feel about the support/training/feedback you received?
• How do you feel about your relationship with your coworkers?
• What recommendations do you have for the company on how to improve?
• Would you recommend this company to others? Why or why not?

Since youre already on your way out , it can be tempting to just breeze through the exit interview without giving the process or your answers much thought. And you could be wondering: whats in it for you to put additional thought, time and care into this exercise?

Be Honest, But Not Bitter

Be Specific

Be Sure to Give Positive Feedback, Too

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How Do You Feel About Management And Do You Have Any Feedback Or Suggestions For How We Can Improve

This question gives you the opportunity to help your employer see your position from your perspective. Stay objective and fair when sharing feedback. Be specific and give your feedback in a positive way while keeping the focus on improving the company.

Example:Overall, I am satisfied with the way management has guided me in my job, but there is room for improvement. Management sometimes overlooked the ways they could utilize my role, so I occasionally felt somewhat stagnant. However, if they empower new employees to feel independent from the beginning, we can get more innovative and new ideas from them to add value to the companys success. This seems like a more effective solution than waiting for directives.

Understanding The Positive Aspects Of Employment

By understanding the positive aspects of employment with your organization, it will also make it easier for you to retain critical employees and improve your workplace productivity. You will have the information you need to make the changes necessary to provide a desirable workplace.

Because you are allowed to ask almost any question in an exit interview, it’s a good time to inquire about compensation and benefits at competing companies. You may discover you top the list. You could also ask the person that is leaving for any positive information they want to share about managers, the organizational mission, the vision of the company, and if your organization excels at communication.

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What Not To Ask

While its important to be on alert for harassment or discrimination complaints or just bad management that your exiting employee may point out, you dont want to fuel the fire.

Exit Interviews should focus on the company, and the information you gather should be helpful, constructive feedback that you can use to move the company, employees and processes forward.

These conversations also give employees an opportunity to provide their opinions and share what led to their decision to leave. However, you need to be careful not to encourage negativity in any of the following ways:

1. Dont ask targeted questions about specific people or issues. While its OK to ask for general feedback about a supervisor, you should not insert your opinions into the conversation.

2. Dont feed office gossip. Its never constructive and wont be reliable information.

3. Dont say anything that could be construed as slander. The conversation should focus on the employees experience. Although he or she may have negative things to say about certain people, you should listen without agreeing or disagreeing with his or her point.

4. Dont lay the groundwork that could look like you are setting someone up for termination. Any employees performance and status within the company should not be shared especially with a departing employee.

5. Dont get into personal issues. Keep the conversation professional and work-related.

6. Dont try to convince the employee to change stay with your company.

Ask Questions And Pay Close Attention In An Exit Interview

You will want to listen carefully to what you are told in an exit interview and make sure that you ask a lot of questions. This will help ensure that you are hearing what the employee is saying and what he or she is not saying, which are both important. It is easy to make a leap of faith and assume that you understand what the employee is describing, but the employee’s words may not accurately convey the employee’s true feelings.

During an exit interview, being attuned to the employee’s subtle differences in meaning is crucial to the usefulness of the information you receive. It’s also best to write down what the employee says because you don’t want to trust your memory. When you write down the responses that your exiting employee provides, the person receives the message that you care about the information that he or she is providing. This, in turn, may allow you to collect more information and feedback than you otherwise may have received.

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Do You Feel That You Were Properly Prepared With The Training Provided

The way you answer this question will be helpful to future new hires and your employer alike. Do you feel like your expectations given your prior knowledge and skill levels were fair, or did you feel neglected and left to figure things out on your own?

The best answer to this question is as specific as possible so that your employer can make the appropriate adjustments. Dont just say you didnt feel prepared say that you were expected to operate machinery outside of your skill level after only a brief demonstration.

Now The Question Is What To Say During Exit Interview

We know by now that it is better to,

Some interviewers want to have something in the exit interview notes to show they have discovered something or to simply have some fodder for office gossip.

This is the time to use tact. And change the subject. With a smile. Keep in mind that there may be no place for trust in this meeting. From both sides.

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Avoid Using Words Hate And Worse:

Most of the exit interviews end with a statement that the employee who is retiring from the company is actually hated to work there and felt worse about it. Therefore, it would be appreciable if an employee relieving from the duties of his / her like to be more polite while they exit. It is unprofessional if an employee tries to use such words as hate and worse in their conversation with the company.

Do You Have Any Proud Moments To Share With Us During Your Time Here

Not all exit interview questions are complicated to answer.

One of such most asked interview questions is about the proud moments of an employee while working in their organization.

After all, HRs would want to leverage the positive aspects of their organization to attract future employees.

So, feel free to answer these exit interview questions with great positivity and enthusiasm.

There were quite a few moments while working here that I am proud of.

However, the one moment I am really proud of is when our team managed to achieve and cross the Half-Yearly sales target despite a few road bumps.

Despite the pressure to meet targets, the team had each others back at all times which led us to victory.

Hence this particular moment is one of my most proud moments while working here.

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How To Prevail At An Exit Interview

interviewquestionsHow to Proceed

• Why have you decided to leave?What is the true reason for your resignation? Is the reason you don’t get along with your coworkers or boss? Is it a hostile work environment?Are you underpaid, not being challenged enough, or not respected in your company? Some of these previously listed questions are serious and legitimate justifications for you to quit a job.Do you truly believe that you could help someone else in the future by bringing some of these issues into focus? Then perhaps you should think about bringing them to light.
• Do you want anyone there to be a reference or future connection?You have spent time at your workplace and have no doubt made some connections during your time of employment.Keep in mind that because that company will no longer employ you does not mean that they are no longer of any use to you.Determine the level of credibility your employer holds in your field, will you need them for a reference in the future? That can tell you if you should try not to burn any bridges, and therefore not speak up about any concerns in the workplace.Most of the time, the latter choice will be correct. The concerns that you once felt were important will not seem to matter anymore since you will no longer be working.Sometimes it is better to let things go and move on in life.

Handle It with Class and Professionalism