Executing the Exit Interview: HR’s Diamond in the Rough

As your best and last chance to capture actionable data from a departing employee, exit interviews are HR's diamonds in the rough.

Fact: When an employee leaves, all of the time, energy and resources you invested in them walks out the door. Though some organisations will have employees take a brief exit survey, they’re doing little to learn how the company can better attract and retain top talent in the future.

A formal process for managing the end of an employee’s lifecycle–offboarding–is an HR department’s diamond in the rough. They’re your last chance to capture honest feedback from an employee. But you should be doing more than just collecting data. “The organisations that get offboarding right are able to capture feedback and make it actionable,” says Lars Schmidt, Director of Talent Acquisition at NPR.

Offboarding should involve more than a casual lunch on an employee’s last day. If you want to identify opportunities for improvement in your organisation’s process, structure and values–and to wrap up any loose ends–your exit process should include three main components:

1. Administrative:

Questions addressing administrative, legal and compliance items should be straightforward. Though goals for this portion of the interview will vary by employer, you should generally focus on: recovering company property; discussing severance pay and benefits options; and reviewing non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.

2. Strategic:

Getting to the heart of an employee’s reasons often requires some digging. Spark constructive conversations by beginning with high-level question on these topics, and then peel back that onion with care:

• Are employees connected to the company culture? Is decision making aligned with company values?

• Are there things the company should change regarding compensation, succession planning, or work/life balance? Would those changes have persuaded the employee to stay?

3. Tactical:

When handled effectively, offboarding presents a great opportunity to gauge the efficacy of your everyday processes. In the case of employees being asked to leave, Schmidt says, “You want to get a sense of why things didn’t work out from the employee’s perspective. Maybe they weren’t in the right role. We as employers shouldn’t assume that fault is solely on the employee.”

Whether the employee is leaving voluntarily or not, ask pointed questions like, “How efficient are the organisation’s workflows?” or “Did the company offer adequate employee development and opportunities for growth?”

If you handle these situations with care, departing employees can provide some perspective on how the employer can recruit candidates that would be a better mutual fit.

Ending Employment Shouldn’t End Relationship

Regardless of where an employee is going or why, Schmidt advises doing what you can to end things on a good note. “You want to maintain those ties, and oftentimes there are bounce-back employees.” Although you’ll definitely come across a bad apple from time to time, respect and professionalism will go a long way toward closing this chapter of an employee’s career on a positive note.

Guest post by Kyle Lagunas

About the Author: Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice–a company that reviews talent management software and more. He blogs about technology, trends, and best practices in human resources and recruiting. To read this article in full, check out his HR blog at: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/exit-interviews-hrs-diamond-in-the-rough-112191/

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