Key Themes To Measure In An Exit Interview
Every organization will have its own interview questions when it comes to finding out why employees leave, and you will be able to tailor your exit surveys to reflect this.
There are several standard themes youll want to understand:
- Reasons for leaving
- Feedback about the role, manager, team, pay and conditions, working environment, development opportunities
- Feedback about the organizations culture as a whole
- Whether your ex-employee would still promote your organization to others
What Skills And Qualifications Do You Think We Need To Look For In Your Replacement
Who has better insight into what it takes to do your job well than you? Spoiler alert: nobody. You were the one who got the work done day in and day out. And, chances are, you did it well. So, your employer wants to know what qualities they should keep their eyes out for when replacing you.
Perhaps your original job description emphasized that you needed to be great with database management. But, once you were there, you realized that database was rarely even touched by anyone in your office. It was an obsolete job duty that they kept pasting over from description to description. Instead, you think that looking for someone with strong organizational and multi-tasking skills is a way more important facet to emphasize. Trust me, your employer will appreciate this information.
An exit interview is really nothing to stress over. Think of it as your chance to have a valuable and honest discussion about the ins and outs of the position youre leaving. And, if you do start to feel stressed, just ask yourself whats the worst that can happen. After all, they cant fire you.
Did You Receive Feedback To Help You Improve
No one wants to feel like theyre stuck in a rut, especially at work. So if an employee feels stagnant, its vital that you know about it sooner rather than later.
When youve identified a floundering employee, the best way to inspire them to greatness again is by providing constructive feedback to help them improve. Maybe they need to focus on a different aspect of the job or go back to basics to perfect their skills.
Whatever the solution, managers should be ready and willing to provide guidance to help employees get better at their jobs. If an outgoing employee didnt receive that guidance, you have some changes to make.
Recommended Reading: Women’s Outfit For Job Interview
Do Or Did You Think The Company Supported Your Career Goals
When answering this question, let your employer know how they lived up to your expectations and supported you in your career path. Support might include providing training or education. Provide feedback on how or why you felt supported and when you did not.
Example:When I came to work here, I was excited for the opportunities to continue to advance my position or increase my knowledge and experience. While the company has given me opportunities to learn things I have aimed for in my career, I believe that I have gathered sufficient knowledge working with this firm. It is the right time for me to expand my skills at another company.
Would You Consider Coming Back To Work Here In The Future In What Area Or Function What Would Need To Change
Find out if employees would ever consider coming back. It could be that they just want to gain experience in a particular role, or may want an increase in compensation. Regardless, this is great information to have if different roles of interest open up.
How managers at your organization interview candidates matters and will show up in company reviews. To get involved in the conversation on Glassdoor and start managing and promoting your employer brand reputation, unlock your Free Employer Profile today.
From the Resource Library
Recommended Reading: Interview Attire Womens
Why Are You Leaving
Some may see these first two questions as the same, but theyre actually very different. Your employee may have started looking to switch jobs for one reason. But she may have made the final decision for a host of other reasons.
These two questions help you determine everything that prompted her to leavefrom initial dissatisfaction to the final straw that broke the camels back.
What Are The Goals Of An Effective Exit Interview
An effective exit interview yields valuable information:
- Formally closes the employee/employer relationship in a constructive and helpful
- Provides first-hand employee experience data on their environment, team, management, role, and company culture.
- Discovers if the former employee would promote your organization to other people in the
- Understands why they chose to leave, so you can see how this aligns with your companys attrition risk profile.
- Identifies any issues or areas within the business that need
The exit interview survey format is commonly used to make the best use of remaining time and support flexibility for a mobile, remote or international workforce.
Recommended Reading: What Should Females Wear To A Job Interview
Would You Consider Changing Your Mind And Continuing To Work With Us
An employer may ask this exit interview question to see if there’s anything they can do to retain you as an employee. Considering this question beforehand will allow you to provide a confident answer. If a promotion or salary increase would change your mind, you can be honest about the other opportunity at your new company.
If you’re not interested in staying, make that clear without closing the door to future opportunities. Maintaining a positive working relationship with past employers is vital for building your professional network.
Example: In my five years working with this company, you provided me with great learning opportunities and valuable skills. I loved working with the team and enjoyed coming to work every day. However, there are more career development and learning opportunities in my new role. I would always be open to working here again in the future under the right circumstances. But for now, I’m confident in my decision to take on a new role with a new organization.”
What To Say In An Exit Interview
Good leaders make things better for others, and the exit interview is a small, but important, way to contribute to this aim. What should you include in your feedback? The author offers six suggestions: 1) Your reason for leaving 2) How well your job was structured and if you had the appropriate tools to succeed 3) If you had opportunities to learn and grow 4) How you feel about your manager and other leaders 5) What you liked most about your job and the company and 6) Your top recommendations for improvement.
Given that most people will hold multiple jobs over the course of their professional lives, you may have the opportunity to participate in an exit interview at one or more points during your career. While not all organizations conduct exit interviews, if you do have the opportunity to participate in one, it is a chance to provide helpful feedback to the organization, so that it can learn and continuously improve for current and future employees.
Whether you are leaving to pursue a new opportunity, escape a toxic leader or environment, seek better work-life balance, make a career change, or all of the above, you dont want to make the exit interview an emotional venting session. Be calm and constructive, sticking to the facts while being both open and direct in your responses. Youll want to include the following information in your feedback.
You May Like:
Recommended Reading: Mailscoop Io
How Did This Position Align With Your Expectations
Employees will feel more satisfied with their roles when you create an accurate description of the job. While talking to a departing employee, you can get a sense of how well your job description met their expectations. If you learn that the role didnât meet their expectations, you may want to edit your job description to ensure youâre attracting the right people.
If You Could Change Anything About Your Job Or The Company What Would You Change
Though you’ll likely gain a lot of insight throughout the exit interview, this question will help the employee to focus in on the biggest or most important reason they’re leaving your company. This is also a non-confrontational way to encourage them to reveal the real reason they’re leaving, as it isn’t asking what they didn’t like, but what they would change. It shifts their answer from a complaint to a suggestion, which many people feel more comfortable providing. Often, just the way we ask a question can make all the difference.
Read Also: Questions To Ask Cfo In Interview
Exit Interview Questions To Ask Employees
Understand why employees are leaving the organization, ask questions to gain insights, and apply the insights to company practices going forward.
An exit interview is a conversation between an employer and a departing employee. Exit interviews are usually conducted by someone on a human resources team, a third party consultant, or the manager of the departing employee. The interview allows the employer to discover opportunities to improve by gathering feedback from an employee who has filled a role.
Questions Hr Should Ask During Exit Interviews
When an employee decides to move on, the company is losing a valuable resource. Exit interviews can be an essential asset to help businesses determine whether they’re doing all in their power to retain their employees.
However, the data collected in an exit interview depends on what questions the interviewer asks. Without the right impetus, there’s no way that the company can garner the information it needs to improve its employee retention. In a time where talent is difficult to find, a company needs to do all it can to keep what it has.
To help, 16 professionals from Forbes Human Resources Council examine some of the key questions the Human Resources department should include in exit interviews to make them worthwhile.
Members share some important questions to ask departing employees during their exit interview.
1. Did You Feel Valued And Appreciated?
A question HR should ask is, “Did you feel like you and your work were valued and appreciated at *company name*?” We’ve all heard the adage: “People don’t quit their job they quit their boss. It is human nature and part of the human psyche to need to be valued and appreciated by those we look up to. Taking the time to give specific and sincere appreciation to those who work for us is crucial in establishing productive tenure. – Brandon Batt, Savory
2. What Made You Look For A New Job?
Read Also: How To Prepare System Design Interview
Create An Action Plan For Improvement
Based on the information gathered, set aside time for strategic planning to decide what action needs to be taken.
Start by addressing the biggest points of concern that need immediate attention. This could possibly prevent turnover contagion, which is the domino effect from one resignation.
However, dont forget about any minor concerns. A few small changes might go a long way toward making things better for employees while you work on making the bigger changes over time.
If you are concerned that many of your employees are feeling similar to the person who is leaving, talk openly with them about the feedback you received. Show them that you have heard the information and are planning to make changes.
Focus On The Employee
When conducting an exit interview, make sure you are focused on the employee. This includes looking at them when you are talking to them. This can be hard to juggle as you will also be taking notes as you ask them questions, but make sure you are focused on the employee instead of hiding behind your computer screen. Go back and forth between your computer screen and the employee. If needed, make small notes during the interview with key points, and finish up with your notes after.
Also Check: Questions To Ask Cfo During Interview
Most Common Exit Interview Questions
An exit interview is an open discussion between an employee and their employer. Organizations conduct exit interviews to get an employee’s view about their company and feedback on what they do well and what they could do better.
There are some common exit questions that your current employer might ask when you resign. Taking part in an exit interview is not mandatory, but it’s an opportunity to outline why you’ve chosen to part ways. Regardless of your reasons, maintain a professional and thoughtful tone when providing feedback. Your comments may lead to some improvements for your colleagues and future hires.
Here, we delve into the top eight exit interview questions and how to answer them:
Tips And Techniques For Asking The Right Exit Interview Questions
Ask the right questions in that final conversation, to get the best value results as you only get this one chance. Asking the best exit interview questions can provide:
All exit interview questions you ask should be fair, and there should be sufficient time for the employee to give feedback. Offer a few open-text field items to get richer details and more nuances about an employees decision to leave.
You May Like: Interview With Cfo
Other Common Exit Interview Survey Questions
Here are some other common and standard exit interview questions that are used in surveys.
These should provide you with additional ideas for customizing your exit interview survey.
- Would you recommend our company to prospective employees?
- Would you ever consider working for our company again in the future?
- How did you feel about the feedback you received from your manager?
- Did you receive enough training to do your job effectively?
- Was your workload usually too light, varied, just right, or too much? Please explain.
- Are there any employee benefits that werent offered that you think should be?
- How frequently did you receive performance feedback?
- What were your feelings about the performance review process?
- How would you rate collaboration and communication across your team? Your department? Your company?
What Did You Like Most About Your Job
While the main goal of exit interviews is to get constructive feedback, that doesnt mean you wont have the opportunity to highlight any positives.
In a typical exit interview, youll be asked what aspects of your position you liked the most. Whether it was a particular job duty, your team members, or the weekly happy hours, your company wants to know what made you look forward to coming in each day. This knowledge helps your manager not only continue to expand on these positive attributes, but also play up the appealing traits when listing your position!
Also Check: What To Wear For An Interview Women
What Should I Say In An Exit Interview
As an employee, the exit interview is your chance to reflect on your experience and provide feedback about it in a confidential way, says Brendan Kavenagh, CEO of Davidson Technology.
If you feel safe, you can offer suggestions for improvement, Kavenagh says. You may or may not have felt comfortable doing that with your direct line manager.
Not everyone feels comfortable revealing all during exit interviews, so dont feel that you have to discuss anything you dont want to.
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.
Recommended Reading: Best Interview Clothes For A Woman
Recommended Reading: System Design Interview Preparation
Most Effective Exit Interview Questions
Now that you are ready to conduct an effective exit interview, let’s look at how to craft the perfect exit interview questions.
Reasons for Leaving
The most important question you must ask your employees is why they have decided to leave. The answer helps you better understand their reasons and how they came to the decision to move to another employer.
- Why did you decide to leave?
- What made you accept your new job?
âOverall Experience
Gauging an employeeâs overall workplace experience can help you understand the day-in-the-lives of your employees.
- What did you like best about your job? The least?
- Do you think your job has changed since you started?
- Do you feel your manager gave you adequate and complete training?
- Were you happy with the benefits offered?
- Did you feel like your achievements were recognised?
- How do you feel about management?
- What was your relationship with your manager like?
- Did you get along with your colleagues?
- Was any feedback received from your manager helpful?
- How would you describe your overall employee experience?
âWork Culture
Asking your departing employees about the work culture they experienced will help you make vital changes to your workplace environments.
âProfessional Goals
Your former employeeâs professional goals will help you understand how you can support the future career goals of future employees.
Listen to your former employeeâs recommendations for easy ways to improve your company.
