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Employee exit interviews are the tail end of the employment cycle. They’re meant to help you understand your past employees’ experiences, namely any issues that should be addressed going forward. They’re said to help improve employee retention and ultimately, workplace culture.
Quite frankly, exit interviews are too little, too late. Your employees should feel comfortable enough to go to HR while they actually work there. If you’re relying on exit interviews to gain insight on your employees, your company culture is already out the window.
Here are 3 major reasons to ditch the exit interview.
1. Exit interviews are rarely honest
For starters, employees don’t want to soil their reputation right before starting a new job. They’re likely to keep answers vague to avoid future complications or conflicts.
Also, there’s no reason for employees to disclose issues they had while working for you. If they’ve already made the decision to leave, they clearly didn’t trust you to fix the problems while they were there, let alone after they’re gone.
2. Exit interviews are insincere
Even when issues are addressed in exit interviews, it’s much easier to place the blame on a former employee than it is to address leadership. All HR wants to hear are easy fixes. If it takes an employee leaving your company to finally confront a matter, HR hasn’t been doing their job.
3. Exit interviews are selfish
Employees dedicate years of their lives to companies. Now that they’re packing their bags, do you really expect them to help their ex-employer make sure the next person has it better? Don’t wait until D-Day. Your organization should constantly take steps towards an improved workplace and make employees feel valued and safe… while they still work there.
Employee retention shouldn’t have to be improved by trial and error. From an employee’s first day on the job, leadership and HR should be facilitating one-on-one discussions. Create a space where employees can share thoughts or feelings without feeling uncomfortable. and know that, when necessary, action will be taken. Instead of wasting time on exit interviews, focus on making the best environment for current employees.
