I know many companies that don’t perform exit interviews. Managers have said to me, “Once they leave, who cares? Most employees don’t offer insightful comments during exit interviews anyway. Our HR manager keeps telling us that it is a waste of time.” One study found that only 46 percent of organizations conduct exit interviews. What’s wrong with this picture?
The first thing wrong could be the person conducting the interview. Think about it. Would you be honest in an exit interview if it were being conducted by someone in the very company you are leaving? I guess if you were angry in the heat of the moment you might. But most of us would keep our mouths shut. Employees fear burning bridges or receiving bad references. There’s no benefit to an employee for “spilling the beans.”
Exit interviews should be conducted by a third party—someone the departing employee can trust while anonymously providing thorough and honest feedback.
Managers should publicize lessons learned and actions taken as a result of exit interviews. Word gets around (remember, the person leaving probably still has friends in your organization and they probably still talk). If the departing employee communicates what he said in the exit interview and word gets around that nothing was ever done to acknowledge or change it, then most employees would realize there is no reason to elongate the exit interview process by talking.
