Exit interview

For the type of election survey, see Exit poll.

An exit interview is a survey conducted with an individual who is separating from an organization or relationship. Most commonly, this occurs between an employee and an organization, a student and an educational institution, or a member and an association. An organization can use the information gained from an exit interview to assess what should be improved, changed, or remain intact. More so, an organization can use the results from exit interviews to reduce employee, student, or member turnover and increase productivity and engagement, thus reducing the high costs associated with turnover. Some examples of the value of conducting exit interviews include shortening the recruiting and hiring process, reducing absenteeism, improving innovation, sustaining performance, and reducing possible litigation if issues mentioned in the exit interview are addressed. It is important for each organization to customize its own exit interview in order to maintain the highest levels of survey validity and reliability.

The exit interview fits into the separation stage of the employee life cycle (ELC). This stage, the last one of the ELC, spans from the moment an employee becomes disengaged until his or her departure from the organization. This is the key time that an exit interview should be administered because the employee’s feelings regarding his or her departure are fresh in mind. An off-boarding process allows both the employer and employee to properly close the existing relationship so that company materials are collected, administrative forms are completed, knowledge base and projects are transferred or documented, feedback and insights are gathered through exit interviews, and any loose ends are resolved.

In business

Exit interviews in business are focused on employees that are leaving a company or when employees have completed a significant project. The purpose of this exit interview is to glean feedback from employees in order to improve aspects of the organization, better retain employees, and reduce turnover. During this interview employees will be asked why they are leaving, what specifically influenced their decision to leave, whether or not they are going to another company and what that company they are going to offers that their current company does not. Businesses can use this information to better align their HR strategy with what employees look for in an organization and enact programs and practices that will influence top talent to stay at the organization.

In the past, exit interview data was being collected by the organization but not much was being done in terms of interpreting the data and making it actionable. Today there are metrics, analytics, benchmarks, and best practices that help organizations make sense of and use the data towards proactive organizational retention programs. Recently an array of exit interview software has been developed and popularized. These programs facilitate and streamline the employee separation process, allow surveys to be completed via the web, make separation and retention trends easy to identify, and amass actionable data which can increase organizational effectiveness and productivity. Additionally, some of these programs make it possible to quantify data gleaned from the surveys to more accurately understand why employees are leaving the organization.

Common exit interview questions

Common questions include reasons for leaving, job satisfaction, frustrations, and feedback concerning company policies or procedures. Questions may relate to the work environment, supervisors, compensation, the work itself, and the company culture.

Examples:

"What are your main reasons for leaving?"
"What did you like most/least about the organization?"
"What, if improved, would have caused you to stay at the organization?"
"Would you recommend the organization to others as a good place to work/study/join?"

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Participation rates

Exit interview participation rates vary depending on the method used to conduct the exit interviews. Paper-and-pencil exit interviews provide the lowest participation rates at approximately 30 - 35%. The highest participation rates are achieved using online exit interviews. The average participation rates for organizations using online exit interviews is 65%. ^[2]

In education

Exit interviews in education are conducted with students who have graduated from an educational institution. These interviews are meant to gather information about students’ experience while attending that institution, what they benefited from, what was missing, and what could be improved to enhance the experience of the next generation of students who attend that institution. This type of interview can also point to areas in which the institution should invest more or less resources to enhance a student’s learning and development experience.

Associations

Exit interviews in associations are administered to members who decide to end membership with an association. These interviews provide feedback to an association regarding what caused the member to leave, what can be improved, and how resources can better be allocated.

Other types

During elections, pollsters may conduct random exit polls.

Methods for conducting exit interviews

There are various methods of conducting exit interviews, each with their benefits and disadvantages with regards to the depth of participation, various biases that may happen, or the format of the information gathered.

Voice - In-Person or Telephone

A voice interview can be conducted by an internal agent (i.e. an HR department) or an external agent (i.e. HR exit interview consulting firm). Questions are normally asked in a structured order. Voice interviews allow for higher complexity and depth of participation than other methods, because it allows the interviewer to pose follow-up questions, capture ideas through tone indications, probe for answers and clarifications, and ask for examples. However, this allows for bias on the part of the interviewer and the interviewee. This bias can represent itself in the way a question is asked and the length of an answer to a question. Also, an employee may find it difficult to verbalize constructive critique (particularly when the interview is conducted face-to-face) due to social pressure not to upset the other participant (the interviewer).

A voice interview needs to be administered by a professional, and while this allows for higher quality data to be gathered, it is the most expensive option. Data collected needs to be entered manually into a tracking system.

Voice interviews have low participation rates over the medium of telephone due to caller ID being collected

Paper

Exit interviews taken in paper form allows interviews to be conducted with those who do not have Internet access, and allows for the option of anonymity. However, it takes longer to receive feedback, and respondents who are not literate would find it difficult to use this medium. Information must also be entered into a tracking system manually for this medium.

Web - Exit Interview Management Systems

Interviews conducted through a Web interface have the advantage of having a high reliability, flexibility, and privacy, as it is completed by the respondent. The exit interview would also be accessible at the convenience of the respondent, anywhere where the respondent can find Internet access, and they would receive quick feedback. However, a respondent would not be able to complete the interview if they do not have Internet access and may find it difficult if they are not literate or have sufficient technical knowledge.

This method has a low administration cost, and data is entered automatically into any relevant system. Statistics and reporting information can be accessed in real time.

Interactive Voice Response

IVRs are reliable methods of taking exit interviews because they are accessible by phone, a very widespread and reliable technology. However, IVRs have fallen out of favor due to the cost effectiveness of web based options that yield data at similar or higher quality. In comparison to other options, it is difficult to get rich data from an IVR, or to adjust and change it, since any changes require new voice recordings to be made.

References

Employment

Classifications	Casual Contingent Full-time Part-time Self-employed Skilled Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour

Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vitæ (CV) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality-Job Fit Theory Person-environment fit Probation Reference Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme

Roles	Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Numerary Permanent Permatemp Supernumerary Supervisor Volunteer

Worker class	Blue-collar Gold-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar White-collar

Career and training	Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education Continuing professional development E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Initial Professional Development Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation

Attendance	Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock

Schedules	35-hour workweek Eight-hour day Flextime Four-day week Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend

Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe USA Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor

Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take-home vehicle

Safety and health	Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Industrial noise Protective clothing Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational stress Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness

Equality	Affirmative action Equal pay for women

Infractions	Corporate abuse Accounting scandals Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Control fraud Corporate scandals Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility

Willingness	Civil conscription Conscription Dead-end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labor Human trafficking Labor camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Work–life balance Downshifting Slow living

Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover

Unemployment	Barriers to Employment Depression Great Depression Long Depression Discouraged worker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Great Recession job losses List of recessions Recession-proof job Types of unemployment Unemployment Convention Unemployment benefits Unemployment extension Unemployment insurance Unemployment rates Employment rates Employment-to-population ratio Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Wage curve Youth unemployment

See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor

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