Exit Interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience for the leaving candidate, especially when this person has gathered up the courage to pack up their things and leave the position they have been building up for months or even years inside the company.
Even if the organization has a very talented HR manager on their side, an employee leaving for whatever reason is inevitable in any kind of corporation. A good HR manager mostly invest his or her time and effort in improving the relationship between employees and constructing workplace strategies or ethics in the organization, but even with that thought in mind, they cannot simply keep all their employees who are planning to part ways, even if they already negotiated and persuaded the employee to stay within the company.
When the exit interview is about to be conducted, the candidate may even wonder if there is something they have said or done for them to be called in the office one last time. Don’t stress yourself or overthink too much, you would think that an exit-interview would make you feel pretty uncomfortable and uneasy to the touch, but in reality, it can actually be a great platform to say goodbye or voice out problems you have encountered and open up the opportunity where there can be a substantial exchange of ideas between the leaving candidate and the interviewee.
Companies conduct exit interviews to get feedback from the worker on the past position they once had, the work environment, the organization itself, and for details on why the employee is leaving if the employee is planning on resigning.
Although this may actually be the last goodbye the leaving candidate will say to the organization and the current job they once had, the candidate should still consider leaving in a professional note and not turn that final meeting into a course of disaster.
Here are a few exit interview questions the interviewee may plan to use and what the leaving employee should expect.
Why are you leaving?
The most common question and the opening question an employer could ask the leaving candidate in an exit interview. What would be the possible things, aspects, circumstances, shift schedules to even new opportunities that opened up that made you decide to leave the company. Thus, the question answers the important topic on the reason why they are leaving the organization.
This question also helps the organization’s interviewee determine and understand if the company had any shortcomings with the position on their side of the bargain. This creates a pathway for the organization to amend means, accommodate and change things that need to be resolved before the company even thinks of bringing in a new hire or replacement.
What did you enjoy in the company?
This question helps the organization truly get the first-hand input and see if their protocols and management is on the right track. Measuring and assessing how much fun or even the enjoyment of an employee has on their position or job can help create a fundamental idea that the management in the organization as well as the working environment for the employees are superior and are implemented well.
Most exit interviews are meant to get constructive feedback from the leaving candidate, and for the company to give the candidate an opportunity and spotlight to highlight the positive points about their previous job or position inside the organization. Commonly in an exit interview, the leaving candidate will be asked on what parts of the job they liked the most or basically what was the most enjoyable part of their work experience there.
We’re you satisfied with your salary?
Most of the time when the employee tries to leave the organization, the most common reason is that the salary or pay is not any more sustainable for the individual. Most likely the leaving candidate found a better opportunity or job somewhere else where the salary or the benefit they gain is a little bit better than the current job they had in the organization.
The answer to this question will help be an eye-opener for the company to try to tweak the finances to help support the employee. If that is the reason why the employee is leaving the organization, some organizations try to bargain with them and try to give an increase in their current salary if that could stop that candidate from leaving, especially when the candidate is an important asset to the company.
What did you dislike about your job?
“More than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate an employee’s success, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge people, even when it hurts. “ –Travis Bradberry
While this might be a very intimidating question out of the bat but the purpose of this question is for the leaving employee to be honest about their opinion, and have them voice out all the complaints and mistreatment they might have possibly experienced in the company.
The possible end result of the exit interview will be a dramatic and substantial chance for the company to improve its policy, functions and event management in the future. Even though the leaving candidate will not be working anymore inside the walls or within the organization this a perfect chance for the candidate to leave an impact one last time for the betterment and improvement of the corporation.
Most exit interviews are meant for both the company’s representative interviewee and the leaving candidate to identify areas where the company should focus on improvement. While exit interviews are a great occasion to get some honest employee feedback, it might actually be a case of the saying a little too late.
“Life is similar to a bus ride. The journey begins when we board the bus. We meet people along our way of which some are strangers, some friends and some strangers yet to be friends. There are stops at intervals and people board in. At times some of these people make their presence felt, leave an impact through their grace and beauty on us fellow passengers while on other occasions they remain indifferent. But then it is important for some people to make an exit, to get down and walk the paths they were destined to because if people always made an entrance and never left either for the better or worse, then we would feel suffocated and confused like those people in the bus, the purpose of the journey would lose its essence and the journey altogether would neither be worthwhile nor smooth.”
― Chirag Tulsiani
