5 Reasons Why an Exit Interview Can Give You a Better Understanding of Your Business

 

We all know that the number one priority as an employer is to support, retain and develop our employees. But what happens when people are looking to move on? Those employees might just be the key to moving forward with your business and helping you retain other members of staff.

 

An exit interview is the perfect opportunity to find out what might be going wrong in your business, what changes you can make to create a more positive working environment and help to increase the longevity of your employees.

Losing a successful and hard-working employee is the last thing a manager wants, but why not turn this negative into a positive and utilise the opportunity to your advantage?

Here are our top 5 reasons to complete exit interviews:

1. Gather feedback on line management
   An exit interview can allow you to gather feedback on line management and other employees as a whole. Take this opportunity to ask them about their working relationship with line managers. Along with getting some inside knowledge, this will also allow you to assess if this was the reason for their departure. Asking about other colleagues also gives you the opportunity to identify any underlying team issues.
2. Re-evaluate your company values
   Are your employees striving for the same thing as your business? If not, why not? This is the perfect time to re-evaluate your company values and possibly develop them further. Your employees should have the same values as you and your business, ask the interviewee what they think of the company values, how they feel about their communication and how they think they can be improved. If they don’t agree with them – or don’t even know what they are then this should give you some food for thought.

3. What are your company’s incentive and benefit’s packages like?
   Do you have any? A good incentive and benefits scheme can attract employees so this is an ideal time to assess yours. Are they desirable enough? Are they achievable? Ask the employee how they found them and if they benefitted from them.

4. Identify where training may be required
   A common reason for leaving a role is that the job is too challenging for the employee or they don’t think they are progressing as well as they should be, this should identify training needs in your business. You may have a great employee that would flourish with some training in the correct fields, ask the employee how further training in the role/progression plans would have affected their decision to leave.

5. Assess HR functions
   Communication is key within a business, this lets employees know what is tolerated and what the business expects. Is the employee leaving because they haven’t followed policies and procedures? Are all your employees aware of these guidelines? If not, this is a great time to assess the company’s HR functions.

After conducting an exit interview you should have a greater knowledge about how your employees feel and it could ultimately help to prevent more great members of staff departing from your business.

As bold as it may be, try asking the question “If this was your business what would you do differently?” – You may be surprised by the answer!

Remember, an exit interview is positive and crucial to your business not just an extended farewell.