When Did You Start Considering Moving On
In some cases, an employee has been looking for another position for months, and finally landed one. Understanding when they began their search could be critically important for employers.
You may notice patterns begin to emerge: For example, at 6 months employees tend to leave. Looking at what occurs during that timeframe would be critical to correct what the issue was and ensure the next hire makes it past that challenging time.
Is There Anything That Would Have Changed Your Mind About Leaving
This exit interview question is purposefully direct and can help you get to the crux of why an employee has chosen to leave. Often, what would have encouraged an employee to stay is also the catalyst behind their reason to move on, and is worth examining further. For example, if an employee says they probably wouldnt have quit if the company offered more flexibility, then it might be time to explore a remote work policy, flexible start and finish times, unlimited vacation or other flexible work options.
What Were The Main Factors You Considered When Choosing A New Job
This is an effective exit interview question. The more factors you meet, the less likely youll be to have ahigh turnover problem.
Rely on this question to spot the HR areas where youre lacking. If you cant provide the benefits you once promised, take them out of your next job descriptions and focus on other benefits instead.
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Did The Company Help You Accomplish Your Professional Development And Career Goals
Employees who feel like they are accomplishing something every day at work are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. In fact, employees who have access to either internal or external professional development are 10% more likely to remain with their employers. By asking this question, you can see what more you and your managers can do to help employees grow professionally.
When To Conduct Exit Interview Questions
Much like any other departure, there will be a mix of emotions. Companies can greatly benefit from this if they have a structure in place to let the exiting employee speak in a secured, private, and professional platform. The feedback can be positive or negative or usually a mix of both, but what makes exit interview questions and answers so valuable for companies is the honesty.
Why?
They might be forthcoming of things and facts that may not have expressed while being employed with the organization.
Some organizations conduct staff exit interviews immediately after the employee yields their resignation, but it is always a good practice to wait until the last few days of their employment. It is always advisable that the employee has complete knowledge of the entire process, and transparency is maintained in the process.
The organization would indeed expect a candid response from the employee, but if they are not walked through the process before the actual interview, the employee might feel overwhelmed about the entire process and not respond with utmost honesty. Therefore, organizations need to extensively plan such interviews to get maximum insights from the same.
You wont be able to learn much from exiting employees by simply having a one-on-one chat with them. When someone is moving on at any stage in life, it is usually better to hear from them through a different platform, a non-human platform where they can speak their mind and heart out.
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Make Confidentiality A Priority
Remove any identifying information prior to sharing results with the HR department or executive team to protect the employees reputation. You may want to reconnect with former employees about a job or partnership opportunity, and they might reach out regarding a reference check, so dont tarnish their relationship with your company. Additionally, maintaining the employees anonymity will make them feel more at ease and comfortable sharing their honest opinions.
Analyze And Act On The Feedback
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is not leveraging exit interviews to their advantage about two-thirds of existing exit interview programs have minimal follow-up plans. Aggregating exit interview responses can provide you with extremely useful data to improve your employer brand, reduce turnover and boost your employee retention rate.
However, you need to analyze the data first. From there, engage your people, HR and executive teams to strategize improvements. Failing to utilize your employees feedback makes exit interviews a time-sucking formality, not an important opportunity to learn from your people. Not only that, but youll likely continue to lose great employees and fail to attract new talent.
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Dont Share Any Comments Other Than Your Own
Your job may not have been a jailhouse, but the dont snitch rule applies all the same. Do not share or repeat things that colleagues have told you in confidence. You may be leaving, but they are not.
If they have already left, it is still not your place to burn their drawbridge. If Lisa wanted to have to swim a moat to get back in the good graces of your mutual employer, she can burn her own bridge. As tempting as it may be use colleagues comments to bolster your own complaints, dont do it. Lisa will thank you.
How To Get Real Insights From Exit Interview Questions
It is as simple as it sounds. Mazel Tov! The key to getting the most insights from exit interview questions mainly depends on two factors:
Too often, it is seen that for most companies, exit interview questions as merely a checkbox system, where a set of questions are given, and employees just tick the most suitable option for them. Many a time, employees dont speak the truth, defeating the entire purpose of the process.
The key to making the exit interview process from inefficient to excellent is by asking questions that allow an organization to collect actionable responses. Analyzing these questions will help an organization understand the trends and consistencies.
The important aspect of getting the most insight from the exit interview questions is using the data to bring about necessary changes in the functioning of an organization. To bring about these changes, the organization must look at the common pattern or theme that is generated from answering these questions.
To analyze the data obtained from the exit interviews an organization must set up a committee or a group of competent personnel to periodically review the feedback given by employees while exiting the organization.
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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.
How Did You Come Into The Office And What Was Your Commute Like
Even with the work from home option people will often still need to come into the office. Knowing how employees get in and how long it takes them will help you make their lives easier in that regard.
If, for example, you have many employees using the metro you can look into a cycle to work kind of scheme for those who prefer cycling over a packed train ride.
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What Prompted You To Begin Searching For Another Opportunity
Kick off the exit interview by asking the employee why theyre leaving. Are they relocating to a different area? Going back to school? Or do they feel that your company isnt the right fit? Their answer can help guide the discussion and spark ideas for follow-up questions.
This question can also help you determine which opportunities, benefits or perks your company could be offering to attract and retain top talent. For example, if you notice exiting employees often say theyre leaving because there wasnt enough opportunity for advancement, it could be a sign that managers arent properly addressing their employees career aspirations.
Would You Recommend This Company To A Friend Why Or Why Not
Even though they ultimately decided to leave your company, former employees can be excellent referral sources. In an ideal world, every exiting employee would answer yes to this question but the reality is there may be some who are so unhappy with their experience that they would feel uncomfortable referring their contacts. In this case, identify the issues and make corrections as quickly as possible.
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The Purpose Of Exit Interviews
Companies conduct exit interviews to get feedback about the job the employee held, the work environment, and the organization. They may also ask for details regarding why the employee is leaving if the employee resigned.
Exit interviews are a good way for companies to gain insights that can improve the work environment so they can retain their employees and reduce turnover, thus keeping hiring costs and the resources needed to find great employees low.
Companies use many different methods and analytical tools to assess the information and feedback received from an exit interview. Some employers use surveys and Likert scales, while others engage in a dialogue in person or over the phone in order to determine which office practices were more effective than others. Many organizations even permit exiting employees to submit their feedback online.
The exit interview is your opportunity to give feedback about your job, the company, and the supervision you received. Exit interview questions don’t have right or wrong answers, but while you want to be truthful, it’s also important to be polite and respectful, even if you aren’t leaving your job on the best of terms. If a potential employer, upon reading your resume and its accompanying work history, decides to contact your employer to ask about your performance, your exit interview answers may mean the difference between a positive or a negative response.
If You Had Opportunities To Learn And Grow
According to a Gallup study, 32% of people leave their jobs due to lack of career advancement or promotion opportunities. Youll want to share the extent to which you felt that you had a visible career path within the organization and if you were given opportunities to gain new skills and experiences during your tenure, such as stretch assignments or high-stakes projects, that enabled you to grow in your career. You should also share if your manager regularly provided actionable feedback that allowed you to learn continuously and get better at your job.
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Did The Job Live Up To Your Expectations If Not Then Why
This question is super important, especially if youre facing high new hire turnover . It should give you interesting information about your recruitment process.
If employees answer with a no, then where did things go wrong? In the job advert, which means right from the start? Or during the interview rounds where a manager painted a too rosy picture of reality?
Make sure to transfer the feedback you get to your recruitment team or whoever is in charge of your recruitment process so they can start improving things.
What Should You Not Ask During An Exit Interview
Your goal in an exit interview is to understand the persons reasons for leaving, but its important to accomplish this in a respectful way. You can build an atmosphere of trust by avoiding the following types of questions.
- Stay away from asking questions about specific people
- Dont ask people to weigh in on gossip or rumors
- Avoid overly personal questions about why someone is leaving
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Refrain From Making A Counter Offer
At this point, the employee has resigned and is being offboarded from your team. The exit interview is not the time to make a plea for them to stay. Use the exit interview to collect feedback on your company, such as your type of organizational culture, work-from-home policy and your diversity and inclusion initiatives. Any counter offer you make should happen shortly after the employee announces their resignation.
However, if you learn during the exit interview that the employee felt undervalued and you see an opportunity to provide additional value through a counter offer, go ahead. Know that what you see as additional value may only be a temporary fix to what the employee feels is a persistent problem.
Exit Interview Questions You Should Ask Employees Who Are Leaving
While its important to rehire to help maintain production levels and morale, its just as important to understand why the employee is leaving the company
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We know the benefits of having a strong employee onboarding program, but did you know that employee offboarding is equally as important? Determining why the employee is leaving is just as important as planning for their future replacement.
Understanding the employee experience can help HR managers plan for the future and gain feedback to help other employees.
The exit interview is central to gather honest feedback to help improve the organization, but its a meeting very few managers and business owners enjoy. It can be uncomfortable at best, awkward at worst.
Too many put it off or avoid it completely. But failing to conduct as thorough an exit interview as possible is a mistake.
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The Importance Of Asking The Right Exit Interview Or Survey Questions
Unfortunately, most employer neglect exit interviews and surveys. In the current candidate driven job market, it is understandable that most employer rush into recruiting to find a suitable replacement.
However, conducting exit interviews or surveys is a crucial part of the offboarding process, both for the departing employee and the employer. Exit interviews provide closure for both parties.
But exit interviews and surveys are especially useful for an employer. Effective exit interviews can help improve the companys bottom line by reducing turnover and the associated costs of hiring and training new employees.
In order to reap all the benefits of exit interviews or surveys, it is important to ask the right exit interview questions.
Was Training Or Assistance Needed And Offered
For some employees, lack of support or resources creates a frustrating work environment they simply cannot tolerate. If they felt they were unable to perform their job adequately, given the tools available, understanding what could have made for a better work environment could be helpful to salvage the employee with an offer of help. If theyre not interested in giving it another shot, at least youll understand what resources the next hire will need, and when.
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What Do You Like Least About Our Office
If, for instance, it turns out that many leaving employees dont like the fact that their manager doesnt sit with them in an open space you should consider changing this.
Or perhaps people would rather not have a dedicated desk so that theyre able to meet other colleagues. This is also something you can address pretty easily.
While these are often simple things, they can have a big impact on peoples day-to-day and hence their employee experience.
Can We Call You In The Future To Discuss Your Reason For Leaving
For employees who simply wont tell you their reason for leaving, its safe to assume there was a problem theyre concerned about revealing. Often, after a bit of time has elapsed, theyre more comfortable speaking out.
If you didnt get a satisfactory answer, or your gut tells you theres more to the story, ask to call in a few months to get more detail after the dust has settled. If theyre secure in another position, they may be more willing to talk.
Remember to follow up with the call and act on any information you uncover.
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Now: The 15 Exit Interview Questions
Reasons for Leaving
Experience
Looking Ahead
Could We Have Done Something To Make You Stay If So What
While people can answer anything they want here, this question mainly concerns the actual job. Would the employee have stayed if certain parts of their job had been automated? Or were they looking for more variety in their tasks and responsibilities?
If the data shows the latter is often the case, you may want to consider job enrichment or job enlargement for instance.
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Your Reason For Leaving
This is fairly straightforward perhaps you were approached, unsolicited, by an executive recruiter with an exciting new role that was also a step-up in title and pay. Or maybe you are relocating to be closer to family or to support your spouses new job. Or perhaps you are burned out and need a break to reflect on what you really want in your career and life. This is helpful for the organization to know and can allow the exit interviewer to probe further in the appropriate areas.
