12 Questions You Should Be Asking in Your Exit Interviews
Are you conducting exit interviews with employees who are leaving your company?
If not, you are missing out on a great opportunity to gain candid feedback and to uncover the real reasons behind employee departures. Exit interviews can uncover and identify potential problem areas that you may have been unaware of or reinforce the need to make changes in areas you already know need improvement.
It could be management style, a toxic co-worker, workplace culture, employee training gaps, limited opportunities for learning, development, and growth…
In a recent article, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers the following 12 essential exit interview questions, categorized to help address five key areas of concern.
Questions to Uncover the Real Reasons for Leaving
The answers to these questions can provide valuable insights into potential issues within the company that may be contributing to turnover. Organizations can improve retention and create a more positive work environment by addressing these concerns. Sample questions include:
1) What factors contributed to your decision to resign, and what could have been done to prevent you from leaving?
2) What is one thing you wish you could change about our organization to make it a better place to work?
Questions to Identify the Appeal of a New Job
Information gleaned from these questions can help you understand what attracts talent to other companies and how to adjust and improve your own talent acquisition practices. Sample questions include:
3) How did you learn about the job opening for the new position you have accepted?
4) What specific aspects of your new job were most appealing to you?
Questions to Evaluate Job Satisfaction and Experience
These questions help pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. They allow you to garner feedback on various aspects of the job and work environment, providing actionable ideas for enhancing employee satisfaction and performance. Sample questions include:
5) How was your overall experience working for this company? (You can use a scale of 1-10, but also ask for verbiage to support their ranking).
6) Were you given training to perform the job? How would you assess the quality of that training?
7) What did you like most and least about working here?
Questions to Assess the Future and Brand Loyalty
Responses to these questions will indicate their willingness to return or to recommend the company to others, which is indicative of the employee’s overall sentiment toward the company and can highlight areas for improvement in the organization’s reputation and employee relations. Sample questions include:
8) Would you consider returning to this company if a position were available in the future?
9) Would you recommend a friend or family member to work here? Why or why not?
Questions to Gather Feedback on Management Styles
It’s common for employees to exit because of a bad boss, so gathering feedback about supervisors and management styles is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your managers and their impact on employee satisfaction and performance. It can also help guide leadership development and management training programs. Sample questions include:
10) Were you and your supervisor able to work together effectively?
11) What kind of feedback did you receive from your supervisor and how frequently?
12) How would you describe the management style of the organization overall?
You Have the Information. Now What?
Having the information but not acting on it is as good as not having the information.
Owners and HR professionals should systematically categorize and analyze exit interview questions and use the information gathered to spark meaningful and positive change in their organization. No company is perfect, but demonstrating a culture of openness, listening, responsiveness, and continuous improvement will lead to a more engaged and satisfied workforce over time.
Source:
SHRM Talent Management Newsletter, 7/10/2024. “12 Exit Interview Questions Every HR Professional Should Ask”, by Andrew Peeling, June 21, 2024.
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