Interviewing a leaving employee is your last chance to make a good impression. And it doesn’t necessarily has to be just a slogan. If used well, it gives a chance to accomodate to the leaving employees emotions, reword positively a weaker experiences and pay attention to his potential. This all will lead to a overall better perception that will influence your employers brand.
From a strategic consultant point of view, it’s one of the most important HR tools. As well as a source of invaluable information. Unfortunately, its potential is most often lost. And it’s not like we don’t have any tools or knowledge. What could we do to be more effective?
Let’s conduct a small experiment… Think for a moment about your leaving the interview (EI). What would happen if you approach him as your ONLY information source for you next year’s personnel strategy? Are you nervously smiling? Good, then take the test:
Let’s start the exit interview. For every “YES” give yourself a point.
- I want to know the real reasons for giving up the job. Use a very sensitive cafeteria with the option of selecting more than one answer. I do not use general statements to choose from. A better job offer, personal reasons, lack of development opportunities without explaining what it means to a departing employee. If someone has worked with us for several years (and thus gave a part of his life to the company) then his decision is never univocal. There is always a final impulse, argument.
- I use the opportunity to explore additional areas from someone else’s point of view. Someone who knows the organization from the inside – the reason for leaving is just one of them, although the most important. I also pay attention to supervisor assessment, the transparency and effectiveness of procedures. As well as the assessment of the team’s support or the motivating role of the remuneration system.
- It’s also a great moment to ask about the market and competition. Even if someone was pulled out by a headhunter, I still examine his market awareness at the moment he decided to accept the offer.
- I’m asking about who would the leaving employee recommend the company to. Not only in terms of salary or competence offer, but also in terms of development opportunities, cooperation style, management culture.
- I don’t hesitate to ask where to find people like him. If someone has just changed their job in a certain way, then it is probably an effective search channel.
- I take care of the comfort of the departing employee. And technically for the reduction of anxiety, which reduces the reliability of the measurement. That’s why I’m conducting an exit interview after parting. Once our former employee has cooled down after 2 weeks, he can look at his experience.
- Also for reasons of reliability, I use a well-tailored online survey, allowing for anonymity and systematic collection of results. If I use open-ended questions (especially with a large dispersion of the organization), I have an unambiguous system of coding responses and making summaries.
- If I conduct an interview in a direct interview, I use a unified tool that allows a collective annual summary of conversations. I make sure that they are led by a person who is professional. And this is not about the negative emotions of disappointment. Often a superior with remorse can make even a pissed employee not objective.
- I make sure the form of questions so that the former employee does not feel that what he says is aggravating for someone, that he is hurting someone – it’s good to change the form to “we want to improve the workplace; take the role of an expert; if you were your boss / president, what would you change. “
- I take care of the form of questions so that the former employee does not feel aggravating. Or that he is hurting someone – it is worth changing the form to “we want to improve the workplace; take the role of an expert; if you were your boss / president, what would you change. “
So how? Did you get 10 out of 10? Congratulations!
Remember that it was just a mental exercise. We do not recommend setting the strategy only on this one source of information. 😉
If you want to know more about building a strategy – start with us. Say hi at hello@ebnavi.com and we’ll be sure to take it from there.
