7 Reasons to Conduct Employee Exit Interviews

An employee may leave a company for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s because of their personal situation or some problems in the workplace, this is a valuable opportunity to find out how your business is doing. That’s why many employers give questionnaires or conduct exit interviews with leaving employees.

What is an exit interview?

An exit interview is conducted when an employee decides to leave the company. The purpose of this interview is to find out why the employee leaves, if the reason is from the company, and gain insights into how the company can improve itself. 

The exit interview is not an unfamiliar term in human resources, but has not been given adequate attention. 92% of companies in the Asia Pacific do exit interviews but most of them are just procedural, with little action being taken to improve the company.

An exit interview, when conducted properly, will offer many benefits to the company.

7 reasons to conduct an exit interview

1. Gain feedback about company culture

Company culture is the core part of your business. It influences how employees feel about their workplace, their work, and the goals they strive for. It doesn’t affect only one employee, but might affect others, too. 

Asking leaving employees about company culture may provide insights into what makes employees feel uncomfortable, inadequate, or unimportant in the workplace so that you can make changes. You can also learn about the positive aspects of the company culture so you can enhance them.

2. Identify management issues

Conflicts with management are hard to identify because most employees want to keep their jobs instead of confronting their managers. But unsuitable management styles can be one of the most common reasons leading to an exit interview. 

If you’re the manager, you may need to practice receiving answers with an open-minded and constructive attitude.

3. Update information on salary, benefits, and perks

Many employees leave because they’ve found a better-paid job. If you fail to offer compensation that matches the market average, you risk losing more employees and potential candidates.

Through exit interviews, you can ask for information about the salary rates of competitors, as well as what benefits and perks they offer. Then you can update your compensation packages accordingly.

4. Improve retention rate

High staff turnover is costly. The process of recruiting, onboarding, and training new employees requires a big portion of your budget. That’s why companies develop a wide range of strategies to retain workers. 

Exit interviews are a great way to learn more about why employees leave your company and, as a result, help you find a solution to your high turnover problem. You can start to accumulate data to spot trends and uncover why people are leaving.

5. Help tackle issues immediately

Is there anything that needs your urgent attention? There may be major difficulties within your teams, and if you don’t find solutions for them, you’ll lose more people.

6. Improve training and development programs

Exit interviews can highlight the need for a better training and development program in your company. If employees don’t feel supported or challenged in their roles, they’re more likely to leave.

7. Better recruitment strategies

Exit interviews can provide valuable information about your company’s recruiting, onboarding, and training needs. How is your company doing and where is it falling short?

Additionally, this information can help align employee expectations with their actual job responsibilities. For example, if employees complain that their work is more technical than expected, the problem isn’t necessarily with the company or the role itself. The company may need to provide more information in their job descriptions so that applicants can make informed decisions when applying. This will increase the chances of employees enjoying their work and remaining in your company.

Conclusion

Conducting an effective exit interview can seem challenging and time-consuming at first. However, the information learned from such conversations is invaluable for employee retention and ultimately, the growth of your business.

Don’t know what to ask in exit interviews? Check out these 30 exit interview questions to make the most of those conversations.