exit interviews: 6 goals

Exit Interviews: 6 GoalsPresentation by Rudy Trebels

In the most recent (April 2016) issue of Harvard Business Review (HBR) magazine, Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg discuss the strategy of exit interviews and the real value they bring within an organization.

HBR author, Everett Spain HBR author, Boris Groysberg

April 2016 HBR magazine

Idea in BriefFor example, in the article Making Exit Interviews Count, the authors say, "In today's knowledge economy, skilled

employees are any company's most valuable asset. Thus it's important to understand why

they leave, and how the organization may need to change."

https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count



– Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg in Making Exit Interviews Count, HBR magazine April 2016 issue

“Exit interviews, when conducted with care, can provide insight into what employees are thinking, reveals problems in the organization, and sheds light on the competitive landscape.”

The Opportunity:


“Too often, exit interview programs fail to achieve their potential for two reasons: First, the data they produce can be spotty and untrustworthy. And second, little consensus on best practices exist.”

The Challenge:

– Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg in Making Exit Interviews Count, HBR magazine April 2016 issue


This presentation offers key academic research from the April 2016 issue of HBR magazine article, Making Exit Interviews Count. It provides crucial insights from research participants and industry thought leaders.

Here are 6 goals every company should focus on when shaping Exit Interview programs:

1. Uncover issues relating to HR

People need a certain level of financial compensation to remain with an organization, but unless their salary is out of alignment with their peers’, money doesn’t usually drive them out the door.



However, plenty of other HR practices can play into an employee’s decision to leave.

One leader from a food and beverage company told the authors that exit interviews inform his company’s succession planning and talent management process.



2. Understand employees’ perceptions of the work itself,

including job design, working conditions, culture, and peers.

This can help managers improve employee motivation, efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness.



3. Gain insight into managers’ leadership styles and effectiveness

This equips the organization to reinforce positive managers and identify toxic ones.

One executive at a major restaurant chain told the authors that several exit interviews she’d recently conducted revealed that micromanagement was a big problem.



4. Learn about HR benchmarks (salary, benefits) at competing

organizations

One HR executive at a global food and beverage company told the authors, “We use exit interviews to see how competitive we are against other employers: time off, ability to advance, different benefits, and pay packages.”



5. Foster innovation by soliciting ideas for improving the organization

Exit interviews should go beyond the individual’s immediate experience to cover broader areas, such as company strategy, marketing, operations, systems, competition, and the structure of his or her division.



One emerging best practice is to ask every departing employee something along the lines of “Please complete the sentence ‘I don’t know why the company doesn’t just _____.’”

This approach may reveal trends.



6. Create lifelong advocates for the organization

By treating departing employees with respect and gratitude.

That may encourage them to recommend their former companies to potential employees, to use and recommend the companies’ products and services, and to create business alliances between their former and new employers.



One North American financial services executive said, “You want [a departing employee] to leave as

an ambassador and customer.”



If you liked this piece, please visit: RudyTrebels.usRudy Trebels is the President and CEO of Wedgewood Investment Group. With over 35 years of experience within the financial services industry, Rudy is known as a successful business leader and innovator within the industry. Wedgewood Investment Group, LLC, which offers investment banking services, focuses on assisting middle market business grow, financing their existing assets or construction of new assets. Rudy Trebels and the team at Wedgewood have worked with numerous investors and lenders across the country.

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