The Staffing Doctor

Conducting Exit Interviews

by Daniel Abramson

Q Jeremy from Northern Virginia says: Last year our four-store chain replaced just over 30 percent of our employees. I think we could learn a lot from exit interviews, and I would like to put them in place. What's the best way to approach exit interviews, and what are the most important questions we should ask?

A Let's put things in perspective. Turnover is about 37 percent annually in all industries throughout the U.S. While your current rate is less than the national average, it's still highly significant—particularly when you consider that the average cost of replacing a lost employee is two to four times salary.

So yes, by all means, set up an exit interview process for your company. To be effective, make sure it's standardized, and that you have a worksheet that prompts you on the questions you want to ask and provides a place to record the answers.

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If you have a question you'd like to have answered in The Staffing Doctor, send it to Daniel Abramson. Email: Daniel@staffdynamics.biz. An archive of past The Staffing Doctor columns can be found on the Eyecare Business website at www.eyecarebusiness.com.

ESTABLISH PARAMETERS

Whenever possible, have the person conducting the exit interview be someone other than the employee's direct supervisor. This will encourage the employee to speak more freely and will elicit better information.

Set a relaxed and positive tone. Ask the question, listen, and take notes. Avoid "retorts" to the employee's comments even when you feel they are deserved. Use your worksheet to cover all the bases and discover:

1. Where the employee is going and why;

2. How his/her new job duties will differ from the ones he/she is leaving;

3. Why he/she decided to leave;

4. How he/she feels about a checklist of items related to your company.

PROVIDE REASSURANCE

Reassure the employee about your objective and about confidentiality. Say, "Our purpose here is to find ways to make our company a better place to work. While I will listen very carefully to your input, nothing you say will be attributed to you. Please feel free to tell me what you really think."

GET THE CONVERSATION FLOWING

Begin the discussion by confirming some easy-to-answer historical facts:

■ You started work with the company on ____, correct? And you started with the ____ Department on ____, right?

■ What were your basic job duties when you started?

■ How and when have they changed?

SHIFT INTO SOME "HOW" AND "WHY" QUESTIONS

Ask questions such as these:

■ How long have you been thinking of leaving?

■ What started you thinking that way?

■ Could you expand on that?

■ Why is that important to you?

■ Was there a specific event that moved you to take action? Tell me about it.

Stay with this line of questioning until you have a good picture of what motivated the employee to put his/her antenna up and what triggered the final decision. EB