5 Benefits of Conducting Exit Interviews

By Alyssa Laffitte on July 17, 2018

You might have heard of an exit interview, but what exactly is it? Is it even worth the time to interview an employee who is leaving anyway? In short, YES! An exit interview is an interview of an employee who is leaving a company. The purpose of this interview is to get feedback from the departing employee about their time working at your company.

It might odd to interview an employee who is leaving, but it isn’t. On the contrary, exit interviews can be helpful, as they will provide you with lots of information about your employees and how to improve your company. Here are some benefits of conducting exit interviews.

Image via Isorepublic.com

You will get more accurate information

Many companies conduct yearly surveys to learn more about their workplace culture and the satisfaction of their employees. A survey is an effective tool that can provide supervisors with a lot of helpful information. However, sometimes, employees might not be 100% open and honest with their answers on these surveys. They might neglect to mention something, or they might “sugar coat” a problem out of fear that they will get in trouble for their response to the survey, even if it is anonymous.

On the other hand, a departing employee does not have to worry about being fired because they are already leaving! The departing employee will be more open and honest because they don’t have anything to lose. For this reason, an exit interview is the perfect chance to ask an employee about their thoughts and concerns in the workplace. If you conduct exit interviews, you will get more honest and real answers than from a current employee.

It will tell you why your employees leave, and where they are going next

Sometimes, the reason people leave their job can surprise you. An exit interview is the opportunity to hear directly from the employee why they are leaving. You could also ask about your employee’s future plans. This could be helpful if you see a pattern of employees leaving your company for the same reason, or a pattern of them leaving for the same company. It’s important to know why your employees are leaving, and the exit interview is a perfect chance to ask them.

It will help you improve your business

An exit interview will help you improve your business. An exiting employee can shed light on the problems that exist within your company, and give you ideas on how to solve them. As a boss, you might not be aware of the problems your employees face. But during exit interviews, these problems can be brought to the light, and you can do something about them. You can use these improvement suggestions to make your company a more pleasant place to work. Implementing these suggestions will improve your business and can prevent other employees from leaving. For example, if many employees are leaving because the benefits at your company are not enough for them, you might consider offering better benefits next year. Of course, you can ask for any improvement suggestions on a yearly survey. But as I said earlier, a departing employee will be much more candid about what can be improved in the workplace. For these reasons, it is important to ask for improvement suggestions during an exit interview.

It will help tie up any loose ends

The exit interview is a good chance to tie up any loose ends the employee might have. For example, you can let them know when they can expect their last check. You can let them know what final tasks they need to complete before they can officially leave. You can also discuss any intellectual property issues. It’s also a good chance to ask them about any administrative tasks they need to complete before they leave (like filling out an exit form, for example). An exit interview will help you and the employee finish off anything that needs to be finished before they depart.

It gives the employee a chance to leave on a good note

Have you ever heard the expression, “don’t burn bridges”? It means that even though someone is moving on, they should not leave their past on a bad note. This is good advice for your departing employee. Your employee should leave your company on a good note, as they will never know if they will need something from you one day (like a recommendation letter). For this reason, it’s good to give them a chance to formally say “goodbye” and to leave you on a good note. The exit interview is a great chance to allow the employee to leave your company feeling good about their time there.

Clearly, exit interviews are not a waste of time. They will give you valuable information about your employees and how you can improve your workplace. If you have the chance to interview departing employees, do it!

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