How You Can Make Exit Interviews about Feedback -- Not Formality

If you’re an HR professional, especially in a company with a high amount of turnover – and if you’re actively looking to improve those retention figures – you’re likely asking one question on a regular basis:

“How can I get more out of exit interviews?”

First, congratulations on not giving in to cynicism and resignation. It’s easy to view exit interviews as mere formalities, boxes to be checked – and, to be fair, there are valid reasons for that outlook.

If they don’t have new jobs lined up yet, downsized employees – already reeling from being let go – might fear losing references if they unleash their true feelings. Others, even if they’re leaving on good terms, might want to avoid burning bridges, preserving future networking opportunities.

Add the online advice telling people to either give bland answers or skip exit interviews entirely, and you might be left wondering, “Should I do exit interviews at all?”

Yes. You should. Because when you do get honest feedback, it gives your company a chance to do better – not only by the next person holding that job, but by everyone still working there.

Research indicates that the most effective exit interviews are conducted by third parties. That’s not always an option – especially for smaller companies with more limited HR resources. So if you’re conducting them yourself, it’s important to create the best possible conditions for honest feedback.

Ask the right questions

To get better answers, you need better questions. Closed-ended, yes-or-no queries like “Would you say you were treated fairly?” or “Would you recommend this company to a jobseeker?” aren’t going to get you insightful answers.

Look at the differences between these five pairs of questions:

Closed: “Do you feel you were compensated fairly?” 

Open: “What part of the compensation and benefits package could be improved?”

Closed: “Did you receive the information you needed to do your job in a timely manner?

Open: “What would you change about the way someone in your position receives key information?”

Closed: “Did you feel your job role was clear?”

Open: “How could your job role have been more clearly defined?”

Closed: “Did you feel you were a good culture fit?”

Open: “What’s something you would change about the company culture?”

Closed: “Did you feel you had ample opportunities for growth?”

Open: “How could growth opportunities and possible career paths be more clearly presented?"

Notice something about the closed questions? Someone besides the outgoing employee should have already known that at least one answer was a clear and decisive “no,” or, “yes.” 

The consequence of not knowing? The exit interview you’re now conducting. If someone had known earlier, the company could have taken steps toward addressing the pain point before it became a deciding factor.

The open-ended questions, meanwhile, ask for suggestions on how to improve conditions. That can seem like cold comfort to the outgoing employee, but open questions do give them a chance to consider what might have made them stay.

Of course, it’s best to ask open-ended questions and seek honest answers before an employee decides to move on, but the exit interview is the best place to ensure mistakes aren’t repeated .

After you ask, listen

Asking the right questions is only half the equation. The other half? Silence.

Ask the question, then stop talking. Give the other person time and space to respond. The follow-up question you want to ask, just to prompt some sort of answer and move things along, probably isn’t the right one. 

Don’t interrupt. Don’t deflect. Don’t get defensive. Let them say their piece, and then reflect on it. Now you can ask follow-up questions – and at this stage, there are good and bad questions.

Here’s an example:

You’ve asked an open-ended question: “What thoughts do you have on how your performance was evaluated?” The exiting employee responds: “It didn’t always seem fair to me.”

Bad follow-up question: “Why do you feel that way?” (This sounds as though you’re challenging their right to feel what they feel.)

Good follow-up question: “Would you tell me about a specific incident that made you feel that way?” (You’re inviting them to share their experience and perspective, without directly challenging them.)

It’s a small thing, but important: Phrase your follow-up question in a manner that encourages them to share as much detail as possible.

Let responses – not your checklist – drive the interview

Don’t be afraid to go down rabbit holes. If your original question sparks a real back-and-forth conversation that digs into the issue at hand and provides valuable feedback, go with it. Don’t move on to the next question just for the sake of going through your list.

Remember, you’re not looking to tick boxes. You’re looking for information you can use to spot patterns, look for areas of improvement, and improve future retention. 

One in-depth discussion of a single area of concern is worth twenty bland responses that might as well be “No comment.”

There’s no magic formula for making an exit interview comfortable. That’s just the nature of the process. 

Even so, the right questions – both initial and follow-up – can help get honest answers. Those answers might be uncomfortable in the moment, but comfort is the enemy of improvement – and any company that isn’t willing to improve from honest feedback is setting itself up for a lot more exit interviews in the future. 

For more on effective exit strategies, check out Understanding Final Paycheck Laws.