What Do You Think Of The Company Leadership
Companies tend to work best when there is a sense of cohesion between all levels of leadership and a clear corporate direction. However, there will be times when this isnt possible, perhaps if you have new external hires starting at the very top of the chain. Give your interviewee a chance to voice their true opinions, without judgement, about the way that the company is being run. They may have opinions which they have been afraid to voice before, but could provide you with invaluable insight for you for the companys future.
Was There A Time When You Felt Proud Of Your Work
This is a great time to share a positive experience you had with the company. No matter your reason for resigning, acknowledge what was good about your job. Remember that everyone likes to know when they get it right, including your supervisor.
Example:Yes. We worked on that last project a little longer than we expected, but the client was impressed with how detailed and thorough we were. It made me proud to be a member of the team.
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Exit Interview Tips And Best Practices
This list of tips and best practices will help you streamline a successful exit interview process.
1. What to say in an exit interview
Its important to phrase questions and responses correctly to achieve the results you want in an exit interview.
Open-ended questions are incredibly important since it allows people to give a more personal response that you cant get from yes or no types of questions.
Make sure your interviewee knows that youre looking for honest feedback and that their answers wont reflect on future references from the company.
Ask targeted questions, but also allow the interviewee to lead as much of the conversation as they feel comfortable with.
2. Dont let the questionnaire take over
Yes, you do need to keep a list of questions to cover during an exit interview. However, there are plenty of valuable insights you can gain that might not be specifically covered in your questionnaire.
Let the questions lead the conversation, but dont cut off your interviewee when responses lead to other relevant topics being brought up. You may find that some of your most unexpected information comes from organic conversation.
3. Follow up after the interview
Likewise, if there are answers that management feels are especially helpful, you can follow up with a call or email to get expanded feedback.
4. Keep the pressure off
Keep the atmosphere relaxed, casual, and open so that your soon-to-be former employee can answer all questions fully and truthfully.
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Did You Feel Your Achievements Were Recognized Throughout Your Employment
Recognition is crucial to the employee experience. When employees know the company notices and values their contributions, it improves motivation, fuels productivity and can decrease turnover. If an employee doesnt feel their efforts were appreciated, this could be part of the reason theyve chosen to leave.
Have You Informed Anyone Of Your Decision To Leave
If your response to this question shows that youâve informed some staff members of your decision to leave, then your employer may send an email to everyone providing clarity on the situation. This can help sustain a positive work environment in the organisation.
Example:Yes, I have informed my team members via email that Iâll be leaving by the end of this month.
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How To Gain Maximum Insight From Exit Interviews And Surveys
What Are Some Ways You Feel The Company Can Improve
When an employer asks this question, they want your honest opinion and are looking for suggestions. Stay positive, but share your ideas about how they can improve productivity, job satisfaction, and other key elements of their operations or your role. Your suggestions may range from compensation and worker benefits, a leader’s management style, or the resources you had access to.
Providing constructive criticism helps your former employer understand what’s important to their employees and develop ways to improve workplace morale. Your answer to this question can benefit your former colleagues and the person replacing you in your role.
Example: In my eight years working here, I can honestly say I’ve had a pleasant experience. However, I think the company should consider extending parental leave to allow new parents more time to be with their children. I also think the company culture could benefit from hosting more team-building activities. Diversity and inclusion initiatives would go a long way to making everyone feel welcome and valued.
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What Skills Qualifications And Qualities Do You Think Are Vital To This Position
Youve written the job descriptions or copy them from templates, so you think you know exactly what you should look for in candidates. But employees who have worked in the position can give you ideas on what qualities and skills are actually necessary for the job. Subtle qualities such as perseverance, interpersonal skills, for example.
Some bullet points on the initial job descriptions might not match with reality. Employees may be required lots of communication skills, but the position doesnt require that much interaction and calls for more technical skills instead. You can adjust the job descriptions to fit the position better in this case.
How Well Your Job Was Structured And If You Had The Appropriate Tools To Succeed
To what extent was your job meaningful and motivating, allowing you to do the work you most enjoy? Did your manager create opportunities for you to use your strengths? Youll also want to share the extent to which you felt your manager supported you and helped clear obstacles, and whether you felt like you had had the appropriate resources to do your job well. These include things like budget, people, and other tools, such as the appropriate software to make your job easier.
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Do You Feel Your Job Description Changed Since You Were Hired If So Then How
To nip unrealistic expectations in the bud its good to ask leaving employees this question. If indeed their job description is different now then it should be updated asap to avoid disappointed new hires.
Changes can include, among other things, different skills, competencies, tasks and responsibilities.
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How Would You Describe Our Company Culture
What youre looking for with this question isnt a specific example but, rather, the overall trend that your outgoing employees identify. You may get some outliers , but, over time, youll start to see your company culture.
For example, if you have 50 employees who say that the company culture is open and honest and 10 employees who say that it is something else, that gives you a fairly accurate idea of how your business is perceived.
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Can I Ask Questions In My Exit Interview
Of course. Although you are the interviewee, you can consider asking some questions yourself if they are important to you and you think you are capable of asking them with the right attitude. Here are some examples of questions you might be interested in asking:
1. How would you rate me as an employee?
2. In what areas do you consider I have contributed the most to the company?
3. What areas of improvement do you think I have left pending?
4. What do you think I have contributed in general to the company during this time?
5. To what extent have you fulfilled the expectations placed on me at the time of my hiring?
6. What will the company do with my answers to these questions?
7. Would you consider me joining the company again in the future?
If the interviewer intends to give you feedbackon your performance rather than just collect the information you want to give them, it will not be necessary for you to ask these questions: the interviewer will spontaneously provide you with this information.
However, if there are any questions about your career with thecompany that you dont want to miss, consider proactively asking about it in case your interviewer doesnt provide you with that information. If you dont, chances are you wont have the opportunity in the future to know the answer.
How To Conduct An Exit Interview That Benefits Your Company
- How to Conduct an Exit Interview that Benefits Your Company
Why do good employees leave your organization? Knowing the answer to this question will help you with a myriad of your responsibilities as an HR professional, from retaining valuable talent to pinpointing managerial problems to fostering a positive company culture. This is why conducting interviews with departing employees as a part of your offboarding process can be so valuable. If youre unsure of how to conduct an exit interview, keep reading.
Conducting exit interviews with employees leaving your company can help you figure out what your organization is already doing well, and what areas need adjustment. Well-conducted interviews can also give you insights on your industry based on the employees expectations of your company, in terms of compensation, benefits, and other key criteria. Lastly, an exit interview can provide an opportunity to ensure the employee leaves on a high note, feeling appreciated for their contributions and respected for their feedback.
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Why Is An Exit Survey Interview Important
Conducting exit polls can reveal a lot. Here are seven reasons to add this type of survey to your checklist:
From any position, exit interviews are beneficial to both parties.
What Motivated You To Search For Another Job Opportunity
This is typically the first question in an exit interview. Your response provides the employer with a broad understanding of what made you choose to resign. This interview question differs from other conventional job interviews because the employer is ready to receive potentially negative feedback. In asking this question, your employer wants to uncover your motivations for leaving and whether they could have done something differently.
There are several reasons you might choose to part ways with your present employer. You could be moving away, or wanting to pursue further education full-time. You could simply feel that your current employer isn’t right for you and your long-term career goals. This question gives your employer an idea of what they can change to keep their top talent. Your answer to this question should articulate your reason for leaving your current role.
Example: I’ve enjoyed working here over the past three years. I learned plenty of valuable skills since starting with this company, but, I feel that it’s time for me to pursue a new role. This position has been instrumental in helping me hone my scheduling and computer skills, but I don’t see any more room for career growth here. I want to continue strengthening my abilities and expanding my experience by going in a new direction.
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Swap Polite Excuses And Vague Generalities For Actionable Insights By Asking These Questions
In August almost 4.3 million people quit their jobs, setting a new record. But that record only held a month. Just-released numbers show even more people quit in September, a total of 4.4. million. The Great Resignation is not only not ending, it appears to be picking up steam.
Which means that despite their best efforts, many businesses are going to lose good people in the coming months. Should companies send them on their way with an exit interview?
Not everyone is a huge fan of sitting down with soon-to-be ex-employees for a heart to heart. Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo famously likened the feedback you receive to that famed breakup cliché, “It’s not you, it’s me.”
He has a point. While the idea of picking the brains of departing employees for brutally honest feedback sounds logical, humans don’t like delivering unpleasant truths. And the reasons a valued employee is leaving are almost always unpleasant for a company to hear. The result is sit downs that often devolve into generalities, small talk, and white lies. Answers along those lines might spare your feelings but they’re neither honest not actionable.
So how can you wring actually useful insights to help you improve from employees on their way out the door? Experts and experienced leaders have a few ideas.
Exit Interviews Dos And Donts
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WHY? Thats usually the first question that comes to mind for managers and employees alike when news gets around an office that an employee has resigned. While you may never understand all the reasons an employee decides to move on, you can learn a great deal if you make proper use of an exit interview.
Ultimately, every organizations goal is to retain its valued employees, but it will have no control over an unexpected rise in turnover if it is not taking the time to gather and analyze the information you need to retain your top performers. The exit interview is the perfect opportunity to gather that information. Not every employer conducts exit interviews, but most organizations that adopt the process recognize that they are the better for it.
Granted, implementing an exit interview process will not single-handedly reduce employee turnover. However, if its done right, an exit interview can provide valuable information about one of your greatest assetsyour employeesand why they stay, why they leave, and what changes may be needed to remain competitive in the job market. The exit interview may be one of the easiest ways to gather the necessary feedback to address those important topics. Still, there are many factors that can influence the effectiveness of an exit interview policy, and for that reason, weve provided a list of some basic dos and donts for exit interviews.
Dont
Bottom Line
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Is There Anything We Could Have Done To Keep You Here
An employee who enters an exit interview has already made their decision. Theres very little chance to turn their decision around. But still, this can be the last chance to offer solutions that keep them on staff. You can offer better pay, more resources, more flexibility in working time, more opportunities for work-life balance, or a chance to move to another team/role.
Even if the employee doesnt agree with any offers or you cant afford their requests, this question may help spark some insights into what you can offer the next employee.
Did You Feel That You Were Equipped To Do Your Job Well
If you want a direct way to better retain the employee who fills this position next, ask this question. It’s one of the best exit interview questions that will help you generate an immediate proactive response. Be prepared for tales of technology woes, inadequate training and more, but also be prepared to gain valuable knowledge of what you can do better next time.
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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 .
Make Key Observations About Leadership In The Company
While many departing employees hold back and try to give positive feedback during the final interview process, it is essential to make them comfortable enough to provide constructive feedback.
Here, you can encourage feedback regarding their superiors leadership style. Did they feel they were managed in a way that made it easier for them to do their jobs effectively and feel supported?
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Best Exit Interview Questions For Hiring Managers
If an employee quits, but no one is around to do an exit interview, do they affect any change?
This ancient zen question has plagued hiring managers who are tasked with handling employee turnover. Exit interviews can be some of the most informative conversations they can have with a soon-to-be ex-employee, as they unravel underlying problems that leaders may not know about while also gathering insights on the effectiveness of company procedures. So, why are exit interviews important? In April of 2021 alone, 4 million people quit their jobs, and another 3.6 million did so in May. More than 40% of HR professionals have also indicated that their organizations have seen higher or much higher turnover in the past six months. Hiring and/or firing employees is costly, and these startling statistics make it increasingly crucial for employees to examine what changes they should make in their organization to reduce turnover rates and retain their staff. By understanding the reasons behind an employee’s resignation, management will then be able to figure out what went wrong within the organization, and how they can plug the gaps and reduce future terminations.
