VOICE OF HR: EXIT INTERVIEWS, A NEED FOR REVISION

Http://www.ItsmyAscent.com
N. Bindu Thushara, PGPBA (2012-2014), IGTC- Indo German Chamber of Commerce, Bangalore
Date: April 12, 2013 Friday

Abstract: Employee turnover is something all businesses deal with and it can be costly. Implementing exit interviews into your employee departure process can allow you to understand your business from the employees' point of view and identify potential areas for improvement within your organization. While the concept of allowing a departing employee to judge your workplace may seem a little unsettling, it can actually prove quite beneficial, especially when done with employees who are leaving voluntarily. Employees who are leaving involuntarily may not be as objective as those who have made the choice to go. Nevertheless, exit interviews portray a transparent employeremployee relationship and integrity. An employee who is given a chance to leave with dignity can be retained at some point of time. Here the dignity is the respect for the employees opinion, consideration of the employees feedback and valuing the judgement and opinion of employee. This article explains the following; What is an exit interview? Why is exit interview needed? What are the differences between traditional and modern exit interview methods? Who should take the exit interview? When should the exit interview be taken? What should be considered during the exit interviews? What should the exit interview cover? Do existing Exit interviews need revision?

1)

What is an exit interview?

Exit Interview is a survey tool or an instrument that helps an Organization understand the reasons behind the employees decision to leave the Organization. These reasons could also be the actual motivations behind employees resignation and understanding them is like cracking the puzzle of staff turnover. The entire responsibility of exit interviews is managed by the HR department and the HR managers strive hard to retain the employees or try to convince them to think over their decision to resign.

2)

Why is exit interview needed?

Providing an exit interview for an organizations departing employees is a great way to gain valuable insights that may help in the training of new employees or successors. This information can also give organization the upper hand when interviewing potential employees, defining roles or conducting a SWOT analysis. An understanding of these employee turnover issues is vital to create and execute an effective staff retention strategy and to ensure your organisation has the resources needed to grow and meet performance targets. There are a wide range of organisational, interpersonal and personal factors that influence an employee's decision to leave and an effective exit interview process will enable the capture of rich data to assist organisations in prioritising opportunities for improvement and will form the basis of meaningful staff retention strategies. Find out what others see as your organization's strengths Identify shortcomings or areas needing improvement Verify attributes, skills and experience necessary for the position Get insight into the reasoning behind an employee's departure Help foster a positive outlook for current employees by showing them that your organization is open to constructive criticism Get information to help correct a critical issue and perhaps retain a valuable employee through its resolution

3)

What are the differences between traditional and modern exit interview methods?

Traditional Exit Interview: Methods to conduct the exit Interviews were vague, sporadically enforced and the information was rarely passed on to the department members who could successfully make changes based on this system. The information gathered was not used to recognize negative patterns and implement cultural changes. Employees felt their opinions were not valued hence the exit interviews did not carry much of the truth. The interviews were sometimes conducted on the last day when the employee would be going through the emotional tantrums and the interviewer would also wish to complete the formality for the record sake and let the employee be gone. Exit interview data was being collected by the organization but not much was being done in terms of interpreting the data and making it actionable. Interviews were short and were focussed on some routine format common for all employees. One basic realization that was missing was that every employee may work in the same working environment but how the employee reacts to it and receives it differs from one to other and this is what creates differences in opinions. Exit Interviews were a formality than a necessity. Modern Exit Interviews: Modern exit interviews considers employee life cycle. The exit interviews fall in Separation stage, the last one of the ELC, spans from the moment an employee disengages oneself from work to the day of departure from the organization. An off-boarding process allows both the employer and employee to properly close the existing relationship so that company materials are collected, administrative forms are completed, knowledge base and projects are transferred or documented,

feedback and insights are gathered through exit interviews, clients that the employee personally attend are formally notified and any loose ends are resolved. This process could be long and arduous but with new exit interview management systems, all tasks and activities can be automated to ensure nothing has been missed or miss used while saving time and money. Exit interviews protect further failures and prevent repeating of mistakes if considered genuinely.

4)

Who should take the exit interview?

The one who takes the interview: Should not be part of employees day to day work life. Should be neutral and unbiased. Should have adequate knowledge of his work. Should be a senior HR Manager who can evaluate the information gathered in the exit interview considering all the possibilities offered and returns that the employee provided on the investment made. Should be a responsible manager who can keep the information shared by the departing employee confidential from his peers or subordinates and report only to the concerned department.

5)

When should the exit interview be taken?

The policies that pertain to time management reflect here. A company that follows perfect time management knows the ideal time to make an efficient exit interview which helps the organization in collecting the relevant and required information without haste and even the exiting employee would be given enough time, space and would be kept at ease to open up. Every employee who wishes to resign or leave the organization has to serve the notice period. This notice period could vary from 1-3 months based upon the different companies and its policies. A time span of 30-45 minutes is usually valuable and time period of 15 days to 1 month can be used to conduct the exit interview. To avoids sensitive situations for employees who do not wish to open up directly, online surveys can be utilised and companies like Insync Surveys and Strategic programs, Inc have developed online survey programs like Strategic TurnOver Program (STOP) and Insync Surveys online survey portal which helps in carrying out the exit interviews smoothly. 6) What should be considered during the exit interviews? Exit interviews should be conducted for every exiting employee, regardless of their level in the organization. Interviews (questions and procedures) should be executed with a standardized methodology in order to make the interpretation of results useful. Interviews should be prepared for in advance with a clear determination of the goals for the interview and any specific items that should be covered.

The information received from the Exit Interview should be utilized to implement real change in the workplace, and not just to store as employee documentation. In addition to the HR Director, senior management should be copied on the reports generated from the Exit Interview, and required to provide feedback. Interview questions and answers should be well-documented by the employer in order to assist with any future legal case brought about by the employee. Employers should ask open-ended questions and probe for opinions about the employee's job, supervisor, and general management, subordinates, working conditions, opportunities for advancement, firm policies, training programs (or lack of), reasons for leaving and any potential legal issues. Follow advanced methods of using online survey to avoid sensitive situations. Record the reasons in writing why the employee is leaving to avoid employee claims such as wrongful termination. The information you receive can be used to offset any claims that are not addressed in the Exit Interview. Try to obtain recommendations on continuing health benefits and the discontinuation of other benefits. Settle up on any payments for accrued vacation or wages due. Obtain the transfer of all company property such as keys, credit cards, books, or other materials. Readdress any non-compete or confidentiality agreements, should they apply.

7)

What should exit interview cover? Workplace perceptions Salary: Expectations and Offered Future potential: SWOT Analysis. Role: Expectations and Offered Suggestions for improvement Employees destination after departure Relationship with the organisation and impact on employer brand

8)

Do existing Exit interviews need revision?

If the exit interviews are performed in right way, then the information gathered from the exit interviews will be highly beneficial. But, not all exit interviews work well. The exit interviews in some companies might fall short for the reasons: Interview taken by wrong interviewer, flawed interview techniques or approach, wrong timing and wrong format, lack of time or emotional influences on the interviewer or the employee, failure to keep information confidential and incompetent in-house exit interview team. Situations like these demand revisions in the exit interview processes. This looks into process that are strategically planned and developed that could reduce employee turnover.

Alternate could be to out-source the exit interview process to those organizations which are competent and experienced in taking exit interviews. As a second option organizations can think of Stay and On-boarding Interviews. Stay interviews are a deep dive into the engagement and 'quit intentions' of an individual. They identify what needs to be done to retain individuals who are considered to be high value and/or high flight risks. They can be used to retain staff during mergers or restructures, in certain roles that are turning over quickly, people at a certain point in tenure (e.g. 18 months or 2 years), or you may simply want to interview everyone in your high potential or high performance groups. They are perfect for addressing hot spots identified by engagement surveys. Stay Interviews are usually done on a project basis to address the issues which might give an idea of job change in the employee whereas Exit and On-boarding interviews are usually done continuously as staff join and leave

Conclusion: The main intension behind these interviews is to retain potential employees, prevent incurring losses and seek good ROI (Return on investment) as managing people is not just a human resource management but an asset management and a capital management on which an organization invests to grow so it is Human Capital Management and returns and retentions are mandatory for an organization to survive. References/ Bibliography: http://www.hcamag.com http://www.mybusiness.com.au http://www.worldsweeper.com http://www.strategicprogramsinc.com