One of the most intuitively appealing HR concepts is that of the exit interview. If we only knew what was going through the mind of those who chose to leave our company, we could fix our turnover problems. The thing is that there is more than enough research data to show that exit interviews are not useful in predicting or fixing turnover. Yet, just the other day, I got a newsletter e-mail from a reputable management publication with suggestions on how to make my exit interviews better.
Exit interviews are not effective for several reasons, including:
- Low response rates. There really is not an upside for the leaving employee to participate, so why go through the stress and confrontation? So, whatever data that you get is unlikely to be representative of the people who leave.
- Lack of candor. Most people who would be willing to participate are also not very willing to burn bridges. So their responses are going to be more about them than your organization.
- What do you think the leavers are going to tell you that you should not already know? If a particular manager has higher turnover than the organization at large, it is probably because he/she/they is treating people poorly. You do not need an exit interview to figure that out.
It is the last point that deserves a bit more attention. The biggest problem with the concept of exit interviews is that they are reactive, trying to put the horses back in the barn, so to speak. To keep turnover down, organizations should be addressing those things that lead to turnover before they become significant issues. Identifying and acting upon turnover requires a commitment to gathering data and acting upon it. Two steps you can take include:
- Using turnover as a performance measure when validating pre-employment tests. You can lower churn for many entry level jobs by understanding which people are more likely to stay in the position and use that information in screening candidates.
- If you think you are going to get good information from people who are no longer engaged with your organization during the exit interview, why not get it from those who still are engaged and more likely to be candid? When you gather employee engagement data through short surveys over time, you can determine what the leading indicators of turnover are. It takes commitment to view surveys as a process rather than events, but doing so can provide a high level of insight into employee turnover.
There will also be macro-economic factors that drive voluntary turnover that organizations may not be able to impact. But, as the light at the end of the COVID tunnel becomes brighter and companies return to new-normal staffing levels, it provides a fresh opportunity to be proactive in understanding turnover. This is a better approach than relying on failed techniques of the past.