La exit interview, also known as exit interviews, is a meeting between the project managers or managers with the employee who is going to leave the company, in which they ask him his reasons for leaving and what were the facts that have pushed him to make that decision.
There are different types of exit interviews, such as more personal interviews, surveys, etc.
The information collected in this type of interviews is used by the company or organization to know and assess previous selection processes and check if there were errors to avoid them in the future.
Advantages of Conducting Exit Interviews.
Conducting exit interviews helps to obtain information of great interest to the company, but it must be obtained in an appropriate manner between both parties.
Among the advantages of conducting this type of interview are:
KNOW THE WORK ENVIRONMENT
In a direct way, the company, thanks to this type of interview, will be able to know how its staff of employees is. When a worker leaves, he has the opportunity to tell the company about the mistakes he has witnessed during his time in it, the relationship between colleagues, the behavior of team leaders, etc.
KNOW THE STATUS OF THE EMPLOYED STRATEGIES
Surely the company or organization has implemented different strategies. To achieve different objectives with it, such as a gamification strategy, integration, talent retention, etc. Thanks to these exit interviews, the company will be able to know what the employees think about this type of methods that are being carried out.
As we commented on our blog about the gamification in onboarding processes, it is very important to know what employees think about the processes of recruiting new talent. They try to help the new talent as much as possible. In addition to doing the best you can in your new job, making your initiation experience more enjoyable. Above all, the opinion of workers who leave the company is important, since their opinion will be real, and will not be influenced by other reasons.
KNOW THE PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCESS
Through exit interviews, the company will be able to collect information that will help it know if the reason the employee is leaving has something to do with recruiting.
In addition, it is possible to evaluate and analyze the different stages involved in the selection of personnel in a company. In this way, in the future, to be able to prevent failures that can have a negative impact on the company.
How should an exit interview be conducted?
As a general rule, exit interviews are carried out by the Human Resources department. In the event that the company is small and does not have a department like this, the exit interviews would be carried out by the person in charge of managing the company's personnel.
Here are some tips for conducting this type of interview:
- It is very important that when you go to conduct this interview with an employee who is leaving the company, Do not close the door to a possible return. It is a farewell, the last contact relationship that the employee will have with the company. That is why both you and him must be professionals and not take it personally.
- Make a attractive design for the interview. Until recently, these types of interviews were carried out in a colder way, in person, or through a phone call or email. Now there is the possibility to create a online option in which the interviewers will be able to obtain a more information about the employee's departure and his reasons, since he will be able to feel much more comfortable, providing information truthful and relevant.
- As we mentioned before, the relationship between team managers, managers and bosses is one of the main reasons in the rotation of commitment. It is essential to ask about this management since it will help the company to identify what is happening in certain work areas and to improve the leadership thereof.
- It is vitally important to treat the departing employee very respect and education. Thank you for your work with the company and for everything you have contributed to it. You never know when you will be able to recommend the company, if someone asks you for references, or simply so that the employee leaves a good taste in their mouth and has a good memory of their time in the company.
Mistakes to avoid in an exit interview.
The information acquired by an exit interview can help the company to improve certain aspects. As long as you don't make any of these mistakes:
- Do not accept any type of criticism.
- The person in charge of conducting the interview must be prepared for it.
- Downplay feedback.
- Make a mistake in the tone used in the meeting. The interview should be conducted as something pleasant, positive and relaxed. Using an approach that is too direct can cause the opposite effect to what we want.
- Do not study the competition. Any exit interview is a good option to become interested in the competition and see how it works. In this way we will be able to know if our company is competitive in aspects such as salary, benefits, etc.
