‘i Never Really Liked ‘ Or ‘ Was Never Very Nice To Me’
Don’t get personal. “Attacking certain managers or employees will only reflect poorly on you, and make you come across as bitter or vengeful,” Kerr says. “It’s okay to discuss some behaviors that you feel had an impact on your decision to leave, but resorting to name calling or character assassination will never get you far and will only make it look like you were the difficult person to get along with.”
The Workplace And Culture
Employee safety and how it is perceived within a company culture can have strong positive or negative effects on employee engagement which in turn is a driver ofretention. Its essential employees feel safe.
Your view of the company culture at a senior level can vary from the staff working on the ground. See if the cultural values are clear, or if more needs to be done to establish them within the business.
Explore how connected the employee was and who was in their networks. It will also show well your staff is communicating with each other at a peer-to-peer level, and where this is not happening.
Harassment and discrimination are serious offenses that must be handled correctly to protect the organization and employees. If the employee experienced issues, find out why this went
Dont Make It Personal
We all have small office issues. Mike stole your stapler and Karen left her gross anchovies in the fridge all week. Marty constantly squeaks his chair and Claudia doesnt wear deodorant. Dont even get me started on Fred. This is neither the time nor the place to take about Fred.
Theses are not the kinds of issues that interest Human Resources. Complaining about personal problems during an exit interview will make you appear petty and unprofessional.
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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.
Disadvantages Of Participating In An Exit Interview
Here are some disadvantages to completing an exit interview:
- Benefits the employer more than the employee exiting the company
- Doesnât guarantee any changes will be made
- Communicates Information that may not be used
- Creates the possibility that your name may be connected to the information you shared
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But What If You’re Quitting Because You Really Hate Your Boss
Even if you’re quitting because of your boss, you shouldn’t single out anybody as the reason for your departure in your interview, Abed and Cotton said.
“Talk more generally so that you remain honest but professional,” Cotton said.
Abed argued that whatever bad things you say about your boss, HR will already know about them. “This is not new information to them,” he said. “They keep that person there for other reasons.”
Have you recently quit your job and want to share your experience? Contact this journalist at .
It Is A Good Idea To Prepare Ahead Of Time
If you really feel like you have precious feedback for the organisation, you should consider writing it down in a few key points. Try to be objective and bring arguments supporting your feedback.
Also, try to place your feedback within a framework of what you think would be to the benefit of the company and your soon to be ex-team. This will ensure that the employer will remember you in a positive way.
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The Organization As A Whole
This question supplies employer NPS data, which provides insight into loyalty and engagement. Engagement, in particular, is negatively correlated with staff turnover, so investigating that could change.
An employees perception of organizational justice can have an impact on the likelihood of turnover if the perceived level of justice is low, it could be a factor to consider.
Youll find more information on why the departing employee is leaving, or gain the employees unique perspective of the company from their interactions with customers, suppliers or other peers.
Areas perceived as positive enough to warrant complimenting by a departing employee are likely to be shared in a positive light in the future. Verify the results and explore these gems in more detail.
Maybe the employee liked learning in a specific way or using a specific training option. Or did they learn outside of the available training on offer? This could improve the waytraining is delivered.
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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Choose A Method Of How You Want To Conduct The Interview
There are two common ways of conducting an exit interview. In one scenario you can simply talk through your questions. Alternatively, you can provide a written form that an employee can complete.
You can choose either of these methods, or you can choose to combine both where you provide the employee with a form to fill out then discuss their answers.
To make sure you get a strong overall picture try and group your questions into these five categories:
The reason for leaving
- The working environment
- Technology and tools for the job
If you are struggling for questions, have a look at our examples and adapt them to fit your organisation.
How To Answer Exit Interview Questions
We all know about the different type of interviews and have also read up on most asked interview questions of each category.
But have you wondered about an exit interview? And what are exit interview questions and how do you answer them?
Dont worry, we have you covered.
In this blog, we will talk about everything regarding exit interview questions and also provide interview tips.
Lets begin.
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Exit Interview: All You Need To Know To Be Prepared
If you changed jobs recently you might have already gone through an exit interview. Alternatively, if you are planning to change jobs in the near future, chances are that your current employer will ask you to participate in an exit interview.
If you are one of the over 40% of the global workforce who consider leaving their employer this year, then you might consider being prepared for your exit interview.
Exit interviews are a common component of an offboarding process. Just to brush up on the meaning of offboarding: offboarding means the process that leads to the formal separation between an employee and a company through resignation, termination, or retirement.
We at introdus, employee onboarding software, believe that the entire offboarding process, including the exit interview, should be taken as seriously as the pre & onboarding processes by both employees and employers.
This article will discuss in depth the exit interview starting with what is an exit interview, and its role at the end of your employee lifecycle with an employer. We will also highlight some exit interview questions and how to answer exit interview questions, thus some exit interview dos & donts.
What Did You Dislike Most About Your Job
Here it isthe flipside of the coin. Its time to share those not-so-great aspects of your position.
Maybe you hated having to coordinate the monthly board meeting. Perhaps your boss was a complete meddling micromanager. Or, maybe you think your entire department needs to be restructured in order to work more efficiently and effectively.
Nows your chance to be honest and share those complaints that you normally reserved for mutters under your breath and venting sessions over cocktails with friends.
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‘i Was Really Amazing At This Job’ Or ‘good Luck Running This Business Without Me’
Don’t gloat about how fabulous you were, thus implying that it’s a huge loss on their part, Kerr says. The time to boast a bit may have been on the way in, not on the way out. “It’s fair to say that you felt like your talents weren’t being used fully and to offer examples, but it’s not wise to tell them you were the greatest thing since sliced bread and they’re going to be sorry after you’re gone.”
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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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.
Why You Should Conduct Exit Interviews
With employees leaving their jobs in record numbers since 2020, the Great Resignation reflects major shifts in the global workforce, from the reasons why employees leave to the ways employers are reimagining the workplace experience. According to Work Instituteâs mid-2021 Retention Report, top reasons why employees left their jobs in 2021 were for career reasons and work-life balance reasons , the manager they were working with or the total rewards of the position .
A high employee turnover rate can be costly for any organization, not only when it comes to recruiting and training new talent, but also in terms of serving customers and increasing revenue.
Conducting exit interviews with departing employees can be especially vital to the way your organization operates, because they give you the chance to learn more about your organization from the departing employee’s perspective. You can use information you gather to improve company culture, attract and retain top talent, and better serve external customers and clients.
Use the questions below to gather feedback and make the exit interview experience a favorable one for everyone present.
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Exit Interview Questions For An Internship
Learn the questions that an employer may ask you during an exit interview for an internship, with example answers to help you better prepare for the interview.
- 1. How would you define our company culture?
- 2. Would you recommend this internship to others?
- 3. Do you feel that management provided support throughout the internship?
- 4. If you could change anything about the internship program, what would it be and why?
- 5. Do you feel that you received the proper training to complete your duties?
- 6. What are your next career steps and how can we help you achieve success?
- 7. What was a time that you felt proud during your internship?
- 8. Do you see a future at this company?
Why Are You Leaving
Why they ask it: This is probably the universal question thats asked in an exit interview. The company wants to know if youre leaving for money, a better title, a partners job transfer across the country, family reasons, etc. They are trying to figure out if theres something the company can do better or if your leaving is something out of their control.
How to answer it: Be honest and strategic. For example, if youre leaving for more pay, you may want to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my work and team at this company, but it was also important to me to be compensated closer to market value, which ultimately didnt seem like a possibility here. You dont have to reveal your new salary level unless you feel comfortable doing so.
If its for personal reasons, feel free to share what you feel is professionally relevant about your situation, and consider providing feedback the employer could use productively to help retain other employees in the future. I have to care for a relative and so flexibility is very important right now. Unfortunately, the company wasnt able to provide the level of schedule flexibility I needed.
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Exit Interview Questions Examples
When employees decide to pursue different career opportunities, this might be caused by their own inner desires and motivations, or by structural challenges within the organisation. So any exit interview can be conceptualised as a learning opportunity for an organisation in order to ask some essential questions.
We have compiled a list of exit interview questions to expect being asked:
To conclude, exit interviews provide a formal context for the separation between an employee and employer. As in any formal process, there are some expectations of does and donts. We hope that you feel prepared to participate in the exit interview and that your overall offboarding experience will be positive and professional.
When employers invest in streamlined employee focused tools, you are one step closer to a successful offboarding.
Should An Employee Fill Out A Questionnaire Themselves
Definitely not. An employee is not very likely to want to put down in writing some of their opinions, which will cloud your ability to gain real insights from them. You can find out so much more in an informal conversation, guided by a questionnaire, rather than over-formalizing the process.
Do your best to explore the employees thoughts and motivations. Then, ask them appropriate supplementary questions. However, dont push them too far or exert undue pressure. If an employee doesnt want to comment on a topic, respect that right. Follow the general rule for feedback sessions and do not comment on or judge the statements they make.
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Common Exit Interview Questions
What To Expect At An Exit Interview
The format of an exit interview varies from company to company. You might fill out a written survey, have a face-to-face meeting or experience a combination of the two.
Typically, someone from human resources will conduct the interview. Your direct manager might also meet with youperhaps in a more informal setting, like a goodbye lunchto dig into your motivation for leaving.
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