I’ve long-held the view that the term Exit Interview is misleading. I prefer to think of the exit interview as more of a feedback session, the opportunity when you, as an employee, are asked to review the performance of certain aspects of the company you’ve been working for. And that’s how I advise you approach it, just as you would a performance review feedback session with a direct report and with the same level of calm objectivity, respect and fairness.
Handled well, the meeting can be a really productive and positive experience for both employer and employee. The very fact that your employer wants this discussion demonstrates a willingness to accept feedback.
For the exiting employee it offers you the opportunity to give constructive feedback that can be used to drive change as well as an opportunity to say goodbye in a pleasant and friendly way!
So here are my top 7 tips for handling that session.
1. Prepare: Ahead of your meeting, find out what you can about the structure of the meeting, who will be there and how the information will be used. This sets the scene for you and gives you a context within which to develop your own meeting strategy.
2. Don’t wing it: This meeting is important and gives you an opportunity to effect change for the better. Remember, it’s a feedback session about organisational and departmental performance, so treat it with respect.
3. Temper your honesty with good judgement: Of course honesty is the best policy but it’s generally good to pair it with a healthy slug of judgement and fairness. Take a constructive approach. You can still make your points but if the feedback requires a little diplomacy, use it!
4. Prioritise: Too often people see the exit interview as a time to vent all their frustrations and criticisms. Yes, there may be things you don’t like about the company but an avalanche of criticism won’t drive change. Instead, take a couple of main points, cover them fairly and make suggestions how things could be improved.
5. Avoid extreme or rude language. Neither are useful and extreme words or vague descriptions (eg. ridiculous, diabolical, silly, pathetic, stupid etc) tend to lack credibility.
6. Understand the Objectives: Structurally, the interviews will vary but generally the company wants to gain good insight into;
- The reasons you are leaving,
- What, and to what degree, aspects of the job or company environment may have contributed to you deciding to leave, and
- How they can improve for the future.
Your reason for leaving will possibly fall into one, or more, of the following categories;
- Improved career opportunity
- Disillusionment with current job/company/culture
- Improved work/life balance
- Career change
- Work Location
- Conflict with other employees or managers
- Family and/or personal reasons
- Company instability
- Retrenchment
However, it’s likely you will also be asked questions about other aspects of the company, so the interviewer can get a good feel for your total employee experience. You need to be ready for a wider discussion than just your direct reason for leaving.
7. Think what you want to say: Below are some sample questions you may be asked, or similar along the same theme. A good exit interviewer will want to follow up and probe your reasons for leaving so remember to think about context and fairness. For example, if you are leaving due to better career opportunity/promotion prospects then it may be not so much because your present company is bad at providing those, it may simply be a timing issue in that there aren’t always the opportunities available. Alternatively, it may be a more fundamental issue in that the career progression path isn’t transparent or well structured. Either way, an evenly balanced response can be both honest and constructive without finger-pointing.
So if you spend a little time preparing answers the questions below you’ll probably cover off quite a few of the themes that will arise in the interview. That way you’ll go in prepared and you might even find it’s a productive, positive and engaging experience!
Typical exit interview themes and questions.
- What is the main factor that has led you to decide to leave the company?
- What are the other important reasons for you leaving?
- What is it about your new role and employer that attracted you?
- What opportunities have they been able to offer that you feel are not available here?
- What has gone well and what has been frustrating in your time with us?
- What would you say about how you were motivated, and how that could have been improved?
- How could we have made better use of your capabilities and potential?
- What responsibility would you have welcomed that you were not given? Do you think this was as a result of us now seeing you would like this opportunity or did you not feel able to ‘put your hand up’ for it?
- Was there any training or development you felt we should have given you, but didn’t?
- What are your thoughts on how your department is managed?
- What can you say about the way your performance was measured, and the feedback to you of your performance results?
- How well do you think the performance review process worked for you?
- Do you think you were managed in a way that brought out the best in you? How could we have managed you differently?
- Were there any processes, policies or cultural aspects that made your job more difficult?
- How do you think we could we help people in your department perform more effectively?
- How would you describe our culture as you have experienced it, as opposed to what we say about it?
- What aspects of our culture or processes would prevent you from recommending us as an employer?
- What suggestion would you make to improve working conditions, hours, benefits, etc?
- What could we have done differently that may have prevented you from looking outside the company for another role?
- How could HR have helped you better to address some of your reasons for leaving?
- Do you feel you have been subject to any negative attitudes in terms of any form of bullying, discrimination or harassment? If so, can you please tell us more about that.
