If You Still Do Exit Interviews
Dick Finnegan, Founder, Finnegan Mackenzie Resources
In my last column, I suggested a new twist for exit interviews, that managers conduct them with the leaving employee’s supervisor rather than HR interview the leaving employee. You can read that column here. So let’s close the loop in this column and talk about ways to make traditional exit interviews better.
Traditional exit surveys or interviews often fail because (a) employees don’t tell the truth, and (b) organizations don’t make changes based on the results. Yet companies trudge on to do the surveys because everyone else does them, and logically it makes sense that if we fix the reasons why employees leave, more of them will stay.
So should organizations conduct exit surveys at all? I suggest “yes”, if for no other reason than to learn is a leaving employee was harassed on the job. If that employee chooses not to tell us, our defense is that at least we asked. Having a formal grievance process is a good defense, too. Exit surveys also provide a neutral ear for a leaving employee, and a skilled listener might be able to wring out all of the emotion so the employee doesn’t share it with others. In fact, getting to these emotions is a good reason to conduct exit surveys immediately after employees announce their leaving rather than wait till their last day.
But the elephant in the room is getting to the truth. How do we learn real reasons employees leave? No method is guaranteed but here are some tips that help:
- Design your survey to get to the real leave reason and ask nothing else: Effective exit surveys are short, whether conducted online or in person, and ask questions such as “Why are you leaving?, What one thing could we have done to keep you longer?, Please choose which of the following reasons best describe why you are leaving us and indicate the top three by placing a ‘1’ beside the most important item, then a ‘2’ beside the second-most important item…”
- Avoid the temptation to ask less important questions: Many organizations conduct mini-opinion surveys with leaving employees, assuming this will bring more relevant information when in fact it just clouds the issue. Why ask specifically about pay unless the employee indicates she is leaving for pay? Giving a list of possible leave reasons gives the employee more information to mis-inform us. By introducing new possible reasons, we expand the employee’s imagination and invite them to stray further from the truth
- Train exit interviewers to get one answer: Role play possible generic responses and train interviewers to provide the right follow-up probes to get to the singular truth that answers “Why did you decide to leave?”
- Ask leavers what they did to solve their problems. This tells you more details about the issue at hand and also sends a message that employees have resources to seek help. Those employees who are bitter about leaving might walk away with a new sense of responsibility rather than blame their circumstance entirely on your company.
- And train exit interviewers to “play safe”: The leaving employee must feel no guilt, and instead that her leaving produces a sense of loss to the company. Interviewers can achieve this by (a) responding positively or empathetically to every answer and (b) maintaining the perspective that the organization accepts responsibility and seeks ways to improve.
Establishing a “play safe” environment requires a skill that all interviewers should learn, whether they interview employees on their way in or out of your organization. Make all answers seem OK. If applicants or employees feel like they’ve hit a nerve or given a wrong response, their answers shrivel and they stop disclosing information you want to know. On the other hand, those who feel they are winning by impressing you with their answers go on to fully disclose without restraint. If they tell you their hobby is collecting guns and they are packing heat, ask them to tell you more…and then send them a rejection letter. Accepting answers in a positive way does not indicate agreement, just that “I hear you and want to hear more”.
So rethink your exit interview process, whether conducted in person, by phone, or in some electronic form. All that really matters is getting to real reasons employees leave.
Dick Finnegan is the author of “Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad” and Founder of the Retention Institute. You can learn more about his work at www.RetentionInstitute.com including the only online employee retention certification program in which candidates can earn up to 26 HRCI re-certification credits. You can also follow Dick’s blog at: http://retentioninstitute.blogspot.com/
Posted by Dick Finnegan
on May 10, 2010. Filed under Retention, Thought Leadership.
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