One of your employees just gave you their 2 weeks notice…if it is one of you’re A+ employees (which hopefully all your employees are), you probably have a sinking feeling in your stomach and your thoughts probably turn immediately to “how am I going to replace this person”. We often then get busy trying to figure out who is going to take on this person’s work while trying to find and recruit a replacement. But don’t just send your departing employee off with a handshake and a wave…instead, seize the opportunity to find out why
he/she
is leaving – even if the person wasn’t a stellar employee.
Employees leave companies for different reasons and often several reasons. These “reasons” are critical to know as they can help you further strengthen your business. Maybe an employee is dissatisfied with the lack of advancement opportunities, didn’t get along with their boss, believes your practices are unfair, are getting more money and better benefits with their new job… the list goes on and on. Exit interviews allow you to find out why someone is leaving and then determine what improvements or areas you need to address within your company. They also help you to better understand what practices and polices are working and not working, when it comes
to your employees.
Exit interview questions should FOCUS ON LEARNING why someone is leaving, what contributed to their desire to leave, what he/she liked about working for your company, and improvements the employee would suggest. Here are some examples of questions to ask:
• Why are you leaving the company?
• Did anything in particular trigger your decision to leave?
• What did you like most and least about your job?
• Did the job give you an opportunity to use your skills and abilities?
• Do you have any suggestions for improving the benefits and/or working conditions?
• How did you feel about the quality of the supervision you received on the job?
Exit interviews are another way to get feedback on what is working and not working in your company – so don’t miss this opportunity! Take some time to meet with your departing employees and then review and revise your practices accordingly.
YOUR TURN: What exit interview questions do you ask? Please reply below.
photo credit adamr via FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Jennifer Brown is the founder of PeopleTactics LLC, she is devoted to helping small business owners implement solutions to prevent Human Resources problems that drain them of their time, money, and energy. Jennifer works with small businesses in order to help them build stronger employee relationships, understand and comply with employment laws, establish policies, and set up easy-to-use HR systems to consistently avoid problems.
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