What Is An Exit Interview

Share Information With Executives

You want to make sure that exit interview data reaches key decision-makers in your organization who can implement changes as effectively as possible.

Its helpful if HR leaders maintain a consistent schedule for periodically sharing exit interview data and important trends with executives. Quarterly updates work well for many organizations. Time these updates to be in sync with an annual board meeting or other important dates in corporate decision-making. Most importantly, dont let any valuable data go to waste.Deb Muller, Exit Interview Data Analysis Strategies & Best Practices

Sometimes executives are skeptical about how honest departing employees were in their statements, so its essential that you prepare by carefully evaluating all of the data and anticipating objections from decision-makers prior to presenting them with the information and your suggestions.

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.

Tip #: Make The Exit Interview One

Make sure you conduct an exit interview in a private setting, one-on-one – just an interviewer and a departing employee.

Conducting an exit interview in a public setting or in a panel style interview with multiple interviewers can be intimidating for your departing employees.

As a result, they might close up and restrain from answering your questions in a direct and honest way.

Don’t Miss: How To Interview A Manager

Things To Do During An Exit Interview

Are you wondering what to say during an exit interview? Prepare with the following tips:

• Be professional. Remember that this is the last impression that you will leave the company with, so do your best to stay calm and collected. It isn’t worth losing your professional reputation over an exit interview. To help you, practice your answers to the common exit interview questions above with a close friend, mentor or career coach.
• It’s important to let the company know what they are doing right. Even if you hated your job, try to think of something positive from your experience with the company. Perhaps it was a skill you were able to develop, relationships you forged with your co-workers, or a project that you will always remember.
• Be constructive with criticism. Instead of using the exit interview to vent your frustrations with management or your team, pick one or two items where you could provide comments that are constructive. For example, if you are frustrated because you were never given a promotion, don’t limit yourself to stating the obvious. Instead, you could suggest that the company creates more opportunities for employee training and advancement.
• Thank your interviewer. No matter your overall experience with the company, it’s always a good gesture to thank the interviewer for their time and for giving you the opportunity to provide your feedback.

Ask What Youre Doing Right

Dont assume that because something wasnt mentioned in an exit interview its not a problem. Ask the employee what they enjoy about your workplace environment, whether thats the company culture or compensation and benefits. Asking this question during every exit interview will help you identify whats collectively valued about your workplace so you can emphasize these qualities as part of your employer branding strategy.

You May Like: How To Watch Oprah Meghan Markle Interview

Come Prepared With Positives

Every job has its pros and cons, and an exit interview is a good time to point out all the positives of your role to demonstrate your appreciation and genuine enjoyment for your job.

Whether its the autonomy, challenging tasks, your team and manager, networking and travel opportunities, company lunches, the great location, or excellent benefits package, its good to make note of these areas to ensure they continue for other employees. It shows your interviewer youre capable of seeing the attractive parts of the job, especially if you need to raise other complaints.

Furthermore, weaving your appreciation into the exit interview means you leave on good terms you never know if youll come back to work for the same company in years to come, or if the HR manager ends up as the hiring manager for a future role.

Common Exit Interview Questions

Many employers conduct exit interviews at the end of an employees tenure at their organization to gain context around why an employee is leaving their position. This meeting is an opportunity for you to provide feedback and offer suggestions for the company to help them improve. In this article, we will review some common questions interviewers ask during an exit interview and how you can prepare thoughtful answers.

Don’t Miss: How To Write A Follow Up Interview Email

Did You Share Any Of The Concerns We Discussed Today With The Company Before Deciding To Leave

Asking this exit interview question can reveal whether or not employees feel safe and comfortable voicing their concerns and opinions in the workplace. If their answer to this question is no, it could be a sign that your company needs to work on building a culture where employees feel confident speaking up and sharing their concerns, without fear of negative consequences or retaliation.

If their answer is yes, it may mean that managers arent taking employee feedback seriously or arent asking for feedback often enough. Try designing an employee satisfaction survey to measure how your current employees are feeling or implementing an employee suggestion box to identify issues that can help prevent the loss of another employee.

Why Are You Leaving Your Current Position

As you might guess, this is likely the key question that your employer wants answered during your exit interview. What the heck caused you to want to pack up your bags and go?

Youre asked this for a few different reasons. First, your employer wants to identify whether or not there was a single event that precipitated your departuresuch as a falling out with your manager or a co-worker. Secondly, he or shes hoping to determine if there are any shortcomings with the position that need to be resolved before bringing in a replacement.

Remember, one of a companys key goals is employee retention. And, your feedback is critical in helping to achieve that!

Don’t Miss: How To Close An Interview

Could You Tell Us The Reason For Leaving The Job

This happens to be the most asked interview question during an exit interview.

When the HR asks for a reason for leaving the job, it is to get clarity on your reason for leaving the job.

So, dont hesitate in stating the truth. But remember to be professional and avoid sounding accusatory.

Heres how you can answer such exit interview questions.

To be honest, working here was a great experience.

However, I felt that my talent was not being utilized to the best and after a point, the works that were given to me did not even feel challenging enough.

This led to mundane work life and I did not want to get comfortable with it as I have a lot to learn and I believe facing challenges is the best way I can grow in my career.

Questions To Expect At The Exit Interview

There are many questions you might face during an employee exit interview. Here are some examples of an exit interview questions that an interviewer may ask:

• Why are you leaving?

• How would you rate your experience at the organization?

• What is it about the work environment that caused you to leave?

• What were your strengths and weaknesses as an employee?

• Why did you choose to work here?

• What did you like most about working here?

• What did you like least about working here?

• Could the team have done anything that would have kept you from leaving?

• How do you feel about your co-workers and supervisors?

Exit interviews come with most corporate jobs nowadays, as organizations strive to reduce turnover and improve employee experience. The same skills you learned while preparing for a job interview will hold you in good stead. Harappas Ace The Interview course prepares you for all kinds of interactions with management, by giving you the skills to present yourself in the best light always. Speaking clearly, the right body language and the confidence you need to discuss your strengths and weaknesses can be yoursjoin the course today!

Explore topics such as General HR Interview Questions, How To Improve Interviewing Skills, Pre-Interview Preparation, Interview Tips For Freshers & Successful Interview Techniques from Harappa Diaries and crack your next interview.

Don’t Miss: Where Can I Watch The Interview

Any Activity That Allows An Organization To Exchange Information With Someone Before Their Departure

Some common ways to conduct an employee exit interview include:

• One-on-One Discussion: Because of the high importance of exit interviews, this method is the most ideal and common. A one-on-one discussion gives the interviewer the opportunity to ask useful follow-up questions, gain an understanding of how employees feel about the organization, and ideally leave the relationship as positive as possible.
• Survey: If your organization has a lot of temporary or seasonal employees who leave in a mass exodus, an online survey might be the best way to conduct employee exit interviews. While certainly less personal, this method is better than not conducting exit interviews at all.

Tip #: Conduct Exit Interviews In Person

Although exit interviews can be conducted via written or online surveys, over the phone, through chat or email, the best practice is to conduct them in person.

Exit interviews conducted in person are more effective because they allow for a direct, two-way conversation.

In other words, the interviewer will be able to read an employees body language and ask follow up questions in order to get the most out of these interviews.

You May Like: How To Prepare For An Interview At Amazon

Pros And Cons Of Exit Interviews And Surveys

Natalie Wickham

All HR pros know its important to collect exit feedback: exit feedback allows an exited employees voice to be heard, and it can mitigate the many costs of losing an employee in the future. And HR isnt the only one who recognizes the value of exit feedback.

In fact, 93% of employees believe that exit feedback is important, and 87% of employees believe that their feedback can help others at the organization.

So when it comes to types of exit feedback, what method should you choose? There are two primary options: exit interviews and exit surveys.

In this blog we’ll cover both, including:

• Pros and cons to exit interviews and surveys
• How to collect 360 feedback to improve employee turnover

Do You Feel Your Manager Gave You What You Needed To Succeed

From training and one-on-one meetings to performance reviews and career development opportunities, managers have a responsibility to make sure each of their team members have the tools and feedback they need to excel in their role. This is one of the best exit interview questions, as it can reveal if employees feel abandoned in any of these areas so it can be addressed with their manager.

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare System Design Interview

Reasons Why Exit Interviews Are Important

Weve compiled a list of 10 reasons highlighting the importance of exit interviews to help your organization get the data and insights needed to create a more positive work environment and to protect your organization from risk.

No matter the size of your company, exit interviews provide an opportunity for an employee to discuss the workplace environment, concerns about misconduct, or issues within management.

Learn how employees feel about how management teams handle issues in the workplace and what bearing that has on whether they stay or leave the organization.

How To Prepare For An Exit Interview

Reasons for leaving a job can encompass multiple factors and reasons: the company culture, changes to management or structure, changes to your roles responsibilities and workload, team morale, reward and recognition, a complete career change, relocation, better work/life balance and everything in between.

Whatever the case may be, most companies that constantly work to improve their employee retention numbers will often host structured exit interviews for all staff members who depart.

So what should you expect if youve put in your resignation and asked to attend an exit interview? How should you prepare and is there anything you absolutely should avoid mentioning? Here are top tips for how to prepare and conduct yourself in an exit interview to ensure the process benefits both you and your soon to be ex employer.

Don’t Miss: How Can I Watch Meghan And Harry Oprah Interview

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.

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.

Recommended Reading: What Is Coding Test In Interview

Questions To Ask In An Exit Interview

Just like any hiring interview, employers should prepare a list of questions for managers, supervisors, HR staff or whoever is conducting the interview to use. Having a standardized list of questions is the best way to identify persistent or pervasive issues across an organization.

Sample exit interview questions might include:

• What made you start looking for a new job? Was there any singular event that caused you to decide to leave the company?
• Which aspects did you enjoy most about your job? Which did you dislike most?
• Did the reality of your position fit with the job description you were given?
• Is there anything you would have liked to change about your position?
• Do you have any suggestions for improving our company’s work environment or company culture?
• What did you value most about the company?
• Do you feel that you had all the resources and support necessary to perform your job?
• Did you have a clear understanding of how the performance goals for your position fit within the overall goals of the company?
• How did you feel about your relationship with your supervisor?
• Did you receive feedback about your day-to-day performance from your supervisor?
• What skills and abilities should we look for in your replacement?
• Would you recommend this company as a place to work to your friends or colleagues?

Tip #: Create A Comfortable Atmosphere

The key to a successful exit interview is to ensure all the required conditions for an open, honest conversation.

Assure your leaving employee that everything they say will be confidential and anonymous.

That way, you will create an atmosphere in which employees who are leaving will feel comfortable and safe to state their opinions and share their feelings freely.

Recommended Reading: What Are The 10 Most Common Questions In An Interview

Reflect On Your Experience In Writing

Its not always easy to wing a conversation, especially when you need to talk about something as difficult as why you chose to leave your company. Without proper structure, excessively harsh or critical statements might slip out, or you could forget something important you really wanted to bring up. To avoid something like this, its best to plan out in advance which items you want to cover.

I highly recommend writing down notes to plan what you want to say, advises Jude Miller-Burke, Ph.D., business psychologist and author. If you expect it to be highly charged, practice out loud. Reinforce to yourself that you will maintain boundaries and not succumb to your strong emotions.

Write a list of all the items you want to cover, including positive feedback, critical feedback and what you think the company can do to improve overall. You probably wont want to read off of this list verbatim in the meeting that could come off as a little stiff and impersonal just use it to help jog your memory around which topics to bring up and how to answer certain questions.