Exit interviews can help
An employee gives his boss two weeks notice. As a human resources manager, you want to find out the reason — and what you can do about it.
For a number of HR professionals, exit interviews may do the trick.
Typically involving an employer’s HR department and the departing employee, an exit interview is used to get honest opinions about an organization’s working conditions.
At that point, the organization can’t exactly let go of an employee for what they’ve said when they are already on their way out.
Candid opinions
These candid opinions can help HR managers identify recurring issues — whether it’s domineering supervisors or noncompetitive pay. From there, the organization can work on those areas of improvement, said David Edwards, Oneda Corporation’s chief administrative officer, who oversees human resources.
“It’s a nonthreatening thing,” he said. “It gives you information that can go back to the supervisor or department head.”
While the employer may not have been able to retain that individual, exit interviews can help in retaining those who remain.
“Most really good companies want to know why people are leaving, because the cost of turnover is tremendous,” said Charlie Little, president and chief executive officer of Strategic HR Partners.
Dwayne Jakes, area chair for management at the University of Phoenix’s John Sperling School of Business in Columbus, said it’s a “very necessary tool” for HR professionals.
“You can’t rest on your laurels in business,” said Jakes, who teaches a number of HR courses. “You want to know what the outgoing employee has to say about the organization.”
Jakes admitted that some departing employees may not tell the truth in fear that their names will be “circulated in the community as perse trouble makers.” And employees have a right to refuse an exit interview.
But there’s always a chance they will tell the truth. And exit interviews do not necessarily have to be conducted when the employee is on their way out the door.
Little, who has 30-plus years of HR experience, said it may be a good idea to conduct an exit interview a few weeks after the person has left and is working at another organization. That time away may put things into perspective and allow the person to speak more candidly.
But should questions be asked only at the end of the road? Some local HR professionals say employers should also address employee concerns during the course of their employment.
Lana Thomas-Folds is system director of human resources for the Hughston Clinic and Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital. The organization uses exit interviews, but they also try to talk to employees while they’re still on the job.
“We go a step further at Hughston and Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital to ask employees questions during their first 90 days on the job,” she said.
Valuing workers
Like an exit interview, questions can delve into an employee’s satisfaction with the job or their views on what could be improved.
“We value them and want to make sure that we retain our talent and not wait” until they want to leave, she said.
Jakes agreed and said it really boiled down to communication — whether it’s during employment or at the end.
“You find employees dissatisfied because information is not flowing from the top down,” he said. “Employees are the last ones to know. In my opinion, it would help if the communication was open. ... It’s more reactive when you do it in the exit interview. It’s something you can take care of during your meetings.”
