Things to keep in mind while taking Exit Interviews

If exit interviews are not part of your employee separation process, then you seriously lack some valuable insights.

Exit Interview is one last meeting between the leaving employee and a human resource staff member. These interviews are often taken lightly but they should be structured and precisely formulated by HR professionals of the company. It is because the feedback of a leaving employee can be used in correcting the benchmarks for future hiring, growth and practices followed in an organization.

Usually, complex exit interviews contain a lot of pointers but here are some essential elements to keep in mind while conducting an exit interview:

– Appropriate Questions: Prior to the exit interview, the HR must take some time in advance to frame appropriate questions that might be useful for the organization in the future. For example: reason for leaving, advice for the team, strong and weak points of the organization according to them, etc.

– Encouraging Openness: When an employee is leaving he/she often finds comfort in confidentiality. So, they may be willing to provide feedback to help the organization in identifying its loopholes but they deter to do so openly. HR must find ways to get useful and open feedback without making the employee feel that they are jeopardizing their future relations with the company.

– HR Personnel Should Conduct the Exit Interview: It is advisable that HR personnel conduct the exit interviews rather than the direct manager of the employee. Even the best managers have certain areas of improvement but the employee may not feel comfortable giving a frank and honest feedback in front of the manager whom he/she may have worked under.

– Support the employees: We should always support and care about the employees who are leaving the organization for their career growth. Wherever possible and appropriate we should appreciate their contributions for their services in the organization.

– Implement Feedback: This is the most important tip of all. The feedback gathered from the resigned employee should be taken advantage of by implementing it in the organization. Not all feedbacks may require action but if there is a certain issue being repeated, a plan should be created to resolve the issue.

Whether from customers or employees, feedbacks always play an important role in the future growth of an organisation. So, the next time take note of the downsides your employee points out about your organization in the exit interview. Observe, analyse and identify them to plan appropriate solutions that invoke proper growth and employee engagement.