Exit interviews provide a crucial opportunity to gain valuable insights into your workplace culture and employee satisfaction levels.
Employees leave for various reasons: salary increases, role promotions, shifts in career direction, relocation, changes in work-life balance, or modifications to their role or management. Taking the time to meet with departing employees shows that their experience is valued and helps you understand the factors influencing their departure.
What is the purpose of an exit interview?
An exit interview is a conversation between an employee and a company representative towards the end of the employee’s notice period. This discussion allows employees to elaborate on their reasons for leaving while providing employers with feedback on the workplace—both positive and negative. This feedback can assist your business in:
- Understanding your workplace culture
- Improving day-to-day processes
- Reducing staff turnover
- Benchmarking HR practices against other companies
Implementing exit interview best practices ensures you derive maximum benefit from these discussions and obtain actionable insights for a better workplace.
Be open to feedback
The core purpose of an exit interview is to foster organisational improvement. Employee satisfaction is a crucial element when assessing your team’s productivity and your company’s overall growth. While it might be tempting to shy away from questions that could elicit negative feedback, doing so will only deprive you of critical information that can drive meaningful change.
Create a professional environment
For an exit interview to be effective, employees must feel comfortable discussing their experiences openly. Encourage candid feedback by asking a range of open-ended questions that offer a comprehensive view of their experience with your company. Consider providing a short questionnaire beforehand to help employees reflect and set clear expectations about the interview topics.
Key exit interview questions to ask
- What is your primary reason for leaving?
- What other factors influenced your decision?
- How did you perceive your relationships with co-workers?
- How did you find your interactions with management?
- Did the responsibilities of your role align with your job description?
- How could we have better supported you in this position?
- What were some of your favourite aspects of working here?
- What improvements would you suggest to enhance workplace satisfaction?
- Is there anything we could have offered or changed that might have altered your decision to leave?
In the case of redundancy
Requesting an exit interview following a redundancy might seem inappropriate. Instead, consider asking the employee to complete a brief survey about their workplace experiences to gather valuable insights into employee satisfaction.
Record and act on feedback
Detailed note-taking during the interview is essential for effective exit interviews. Aggregating this feedback with other qualitative data, such as annual satisfaction surveys, helps identify trends and potential issues, allowing your organisation to address these areas and achieve its full potential.
Our founder Natasha was recently featured on an SBS podcast to discuss people and culture, managing redundancies and making the most of your free time.
If you need assistance with employee retention strategies, compliant redundancies, or conducting exit interviews, our experienced consultants are here to help.
Contact us today to discover how our HR solutions can support your workplace through organisational change and drive development.
