4 Ways Exit Interviews Can Save Your Company

Losing a member of your team is never easy; losing a key member of your team can be devastating for you and your customers. Regardless of why your employee is leaving, an exit interview can provide critical insight into your business’s strengths and weaknesses. If done properly, you’ll gain valuable feedback from soon-to-be-former employees regarding your company, on top of receiving useful information to find the right replacement to maintain your company’s operational framework.

Here four reasons why exit interviews should be a mandatory step in your company’s turnover process.

1. Allows you to hire better

Conducting exit interviews is a great way to make improvements to your company’s hiring process. For instance, if there’s a disconnect between the job advertised and the actual role itself, you could be pushing great employees out the door. Consider asking the departing employee how they felt about the position before they started and how they feel now that they are leaving. Understanding the position from their perspective will help you craft a better job description and allow you to make a more certain hire in the future.

2. Improves employer branding

Asking current employees about problems in the workplace can be difficult as the roles of supervisor and supervisee may make the subordinate employee hesitant to voice concerns. Exit interviews give the exiting employee a safe opportunity to air their grievances. By understanding how your employees view your company from the inside you can help focus and perhaps shift the cultural branding of your business. If an employee says they felt long hours were valued more than the quality of their work, when in fact the opposite is true, you might take steps to improve communication with your employees to better demonstrate what your brand values.

3. Refines employee experience

Similar to determining what your employees are associating with your brand, you can also find ways to improve the employee experience. All complaints are worth noting and consistent complaints should be cause for immediate concern. If employees consistently complain about the workload, a lack of vacation time, and/or compensation it’s imperative that you make adjustments to address those concerns. The goal is to increase retention, so use the information gathered during exit interviews to that end.

4. Provides closure

Losing the person that you have invested so much time and energy in can be an emotional setback – more so if you’ve developed a friendship with that individual during their time with your company. An exit interview can provide both you and the employee closure before parting ways and signifies a proper ending to your employee’s tenure at your company.

An employee who departs your company voluntarily should be viewed as an asset. Not only may they return to your company one day, but they could be the catalyst for sending potential employees and clients your way in the future. In many cases, the exit interview is your last chance to rectify unresolved issues and ensure the employee leaves your company with a positive experience.