How to Improve Exit Interview Participation Rates Part III

From Beth N. Carvin

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Logistical Problems in the Exit Interview Process

Logistical problems are the second major area for review in your exit interview process. There are generally weak links in any process and exit interviews are no exception. Your examination should include the whole chain of events that begins when an employee gives notice and ends when the employee submits the exit interview.

Audit Your Exit Interview Process

You can begin to audit your exit interview process by finding out the following information.

• How do employees generally give notice of their intent to terminate?
• Who is the first person notified and how much notice is usually given?
• Who tells the Human Resource division and how? How soon after notice is given is HR notified? Who in HR is notified first?
• Who is responsible for initiating the exit interview? When is this person(s) notified of employee terminations?
• How is the employee notified of the exit interview? By whom? What method? When?
• Is there clear ownership in Human Resources of the exit interview process? Do those involved in the process understand the importance and urgency of the exit interviews?
• What is the employee told about the exit interview? In what ways are they encouraged to complete the exit interview? Are employees told more than one time and in more than one way?
• Is the exit interview easy to complete?
When and where will the employee complete the exit interview? Is there easy access to necessary resources?
• Does the employee have privacy with which to complete the exit interview if they are completing it at work?
• Are supervisors and managers supportive of the exit interview process? Are they fearful about receiving negative feedback from employees? Are you relying on fearful supervisors to relay information about the exit interview to employees?
• Is it easy for employees to submit their exit interviews?

Review each of the above audit questions and take a hard look at your exit interview process. Determine what you can do to improve each of these areas. After you finish your review, you can start to make improvements immediately.

Re-Measure Your Exit Interview Process

Some of the changes that you make will provide a noticeable improvement in participation rates very quickly. Others will require more time to effectively pervade the company culture.

Re-measure your participation rates at three months, six months, nine months and twelve months. By the twelve month mark, you should expect to see a dramatic improvement in your exit interview participation rates. This means you will have more data that can be used to limit turnover and increase employee retention.

Conclusion

You can increase the value of your exit interviews significantly by increasing the number of terminating employees who participate in the exit interview process. By reviewing and improving both the content and structure of the exit interview, along with your own internal processes, you can deliver a substantial increase in your participation rates.