Staff Turnover & Exit Interviews
When people leave a job, it can cause problems for the company. It costs time and money to find and hire new workers. Even though talking to employees who are leaving may not make them stay, it can help us understand why they are leaving.
That’s why it’s important to have exit interviews. Exit interviews help us keep the good workers we have and find the right people to replace them.
Here are some ways to make exit interviews helpful!
Ask the Right Questions
- Why did you decide to look for a new job?
- What made you leave our company?
- How can we make our company a better place to work?
- Did you like your job here?
- What did you enjoy most about working here?
- Can you suggest ways for your team to work better together?
- How do you feel about the leaders in our company?
- Did we support your career goals while you worked here?
Listen Carefully
- If the interview is done inside the company, let the leaving employee choose who they want to talk to.
- Make sure they know their answers will be anonymous.
- Listen to what they say and let them know it’s important.
Useful Data
- You can hire an outside company to do the interviews, so employees feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts.
- This helps the company understand where it’s doing well and where it needs to improve.
What to Do with the Answers
- Use the information you get to make things better.
- Show that you are always trying to make the company a great place to work.
- Share positive stories from employees to attract new talent.
An Alternative: "Stay" Interviews
- Instead of only talking to people leaving, also talk to those who stay.
- Regular talks with current employees can help you fix problems before they become big.
By learning from employees, whether they’re leaving or staying, leaders can make the workplace better for everyone.
Here are some additional resources on staff turnover, and exit interviews!
Indeed is a job seeker’s website with job postings from across the world. Their article offers their top 8 picks for the questions you should be asking in your exit interviews.
SurveyMonkey is an online service that provides survey templates for its users to distribute. Here they have curated an exit interview-specific template.
Business Development Canada is an agency that supports businesses of all sizes and types across Canada. In their article, they provide detailed outlines of their top 5 ways to reduce employee turnover.
WorkHuman is an agency that supports their clients to create high-performance and inclusive workplaces. Their article offers 12 different strategies to help reduce staff turnover, and improve your work culture.
