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Exit interview
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SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
ROLE OF EXIT INTERVIEWS
LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
MRS. RITA KUMARI ANKITA JAIN
LEC. IN LSB 10808364
RR1810B48
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any project puts to litmus test of an individual knowledge credibility or experience and thus sole
efforts of an individual are not sufficient to accomplish the desire. Successful completion of a
project involve interest and effort of many people and so this becomes obligatory on the part to
record our thanks to those who helped us out in the successful completion of our project.
Life is a process of accumulating and discharging debts, not all of those can be
measured. I cannot hope to discharge them with simple words of thanks but we can certainly
acknowledge them.
At this level of understanding it is often difficult to comprehend and assimilate a wide
spectrum of knowledge without proper guidance and advice. Hence, I would like to take this
opportunity to express our Heartfelt Gratitude to Respected Mr. RITA KUMARI for his round
the clock Enthusiastic Support, Noble Guidance and Encouragement which made this project
successful. I am extremely thankful to him for making this project worth full.
ANKITA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Exit interviews are inteviews conducted with departing employees, just before they leave. From
the employer's perspective, the primary aim of the exit interview is to learn reasons for the
person's departure, on the basis that criticism is a helpful driver for organizational improvement.
Exit interviews (and prior) are also an opportunity for the organization to enable transfer of
knowledge and experience from the departing employee to a successor or replacement, or even
to brief a team on current projects, issues and contacts.
Good exit interviews should also yield useful information about the employer organization, to
assess and improve all aspects of the working environment, culture, processes and systems,
management and development, etc.; in fact anything that determines the quality of the
organization, both in terms of its relationship with its staff, customers, suppliers, third-parties
and the general public.
Many employers ignore the opportunity that exit interviews offer, chiefly because exit interviews
have not been practised in the past, and starting them is a difficult initiative to undertake, given
the potentially subjective and 'fuzzy' nature of the results; the time involved; and the unspoken
corporate urge to avoid exposure to criticism.
Exit interviews are nevertheless a unique chance to survey and analyse the opinions of departing
employees, who generally are more forthcoming, constructive and objective than staff still in
their jobs. In leaving an organisation, departing employees are liberated, and as such provide a
richer source of objective feedback than employed staff do when responding to normal staff
attitude surveys.
As ever, corporate insecurity and defensiveness can be an obstacle to implementing exit
interview processes, so if the organization finds it difficult to begin the practice as a matter of
general policy, you can still undertake your own exit interviews locally with your own staff as
and when they leave.
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From the departing employee interviewee perspective, an exit interview is a chance to give some
constructive feedback, and to leave on a positive note, with good relations and mutual respect.
Recrimination, blame, revenge and spite are destructive feelings and behaviours, so resist any
temptation you might have to go out all guns blazing. Be calm, fair, objective and as helpful as
possible.
In the future you may wish to return to the organization (situations and people change), and you
may cross the paths of your ex-colleagues, managers in the future. The adage about treating
people well on your way up because you might meet them on the way down applies just as well
on your way out. The exit interview is an opportunity to shake hands and leave friends, not
enemies.
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CHAPTER -1
THEORTICAL BACKGROUND
We always talk/write about relations and respect every relation. Relation
between employer and employee is also one such relation. Gone are the days when people use to
stick to one job for rest of their life. The trust is lost and the faith is lost as well from both sides.
If an employer is having a policy of hire and fire, employees are also free to change their jobs
whenever they want. We are only reaping the fruits from the trees sown by us. Anyway, if you
are sitting across the table with your employee for an exit interview, probably that is the last
opportunity for you to change his mind and to retain him and if you are able to do it, you are not
only brilliant but excellent HR Professional.
WHAT IS EXIT INTERVIEW?
An exit interview is an entirely voluntary conversation held with an
employee who has given notice to quit their job. An exit interview is typically a meeting between
at least one representative from a company's human resources (HR) department and a departing
employee. The departing employee usually has voluntarily resigned vs. getting laid off or fired.
Human resources department might ask the employee questions while taking notes, asks the
employee to complete a questionnaire, or both. Exit interviews are most effective when the data
is compiled.
NEED TO STUDY THE EXIT INTERVIEW
While attrition is a natural process for organizations, replacing employees is
expensive. The cost goes beyond merely placing an advertisement for the opening in a
newspaper. It includes training a new employee, staff time for selecting a new employee, lost
productivity while the position is open and lost productivity until the new employee gets up to
speed. Understanding why people voluntarily leave the company can provide an opportunity for
the firm to make changes to reduce turnover rates -- and reduce the associated costs.
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GOALS OF EXIT INTERVIEWS
Employee exit interviews can result in measurable retention and performance increases for the
employees and for the business in general. Specifically, effective employee exit interviews are an
opportunity to diagnose and improve performance within the company:
Improve employee retention and reduce turnover.
Increase company objectivity by having employee exit interviews handled by a
fair and non-partisan third-party.
Benchmark against industry and company norms for the exit interview survey
items.
Compare exit interview scores against overall the Employee Satisfaction TrackingSurvey to determine if employee satisfaction impacts turnover.
Track trends in employee exit interview satisfaction to measure improvements
made.
EXIT INTERVIEW-PURPOSE
The exit interview serves a number of important functions. When trends in
voluntary separations are tracked, the firm may be provided a valuable heads up concerning
discrimination problems. It can be anything: Discrimination between expertises, Discrimination
between profiles, Discrimination between Grades or categories or bands likewise. If a trend
reveals an inordinate number of women and minorities are resigning, there could be a lack of
advancement opportunities. By exploring these issues through exit interviews, the company can
learn about the issue and take corrective action.
Valuable feedback concerning training and development can be obtained during the exit
interview. If employees feel they are not properly trained to perform the responsibilities of their
jobs, they may leave. If employees feel that the assignments are not matching to their core
competence which compels them to perform poorly. Or some may leave when they perceive
there is a lack of opportunities for future positions. Using the exit interview effectively can also
provide the company with valuable feedback concerning benefits and compensation. This can be
both negative and positive. It is equally important to know what employees value and what they
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would like to see changed. The organization can provide a more competitive compensation and
benefits package if they utilize this feedback.
The public relations aspect of the exit interview is equally important. The interview is an
opportunity for the employer to end the employee's time with the company on a positive note. Anew relationship with the departing employee may be created. As the employee departs with
positive feelings about the organization, this will be communicated to remaining employees,
local community / technical fraternity and future employees. The end result may even be ease of
recruiting future applicants.
Therefore in brief the purpose of exit interview is:-
To find out why employees are leaving and to see if those reasons could be a mechanism for
change & improvement within their organization.
This is a chance for employee to provide constructive feedback about their work environment,
duties, processes etc. Then company can improve some things related.
Employers will either be hiring a replacement or handing your duties over to existing staff
either by expanding their role of via promotion.
Employee may have a list of clients that will need to be contacted with regards to their case
being taken over by someone new so that company should do this personally before employee
leave.
INTERVIEW PROCESS
Exit interviews can be both oral and written. The panel could comprise HR personnel,
and also the head of the department (but not the immediate supervisor.) Some experts also
believe that trained psychologists should be conducting the interview. What is imperative is that
none of the interviewers should have worked directly with the interviewee. It is necessary for the
interviewers to be clear about the objectives of the interview, and they should try to put theemployee at ease as soon as the process starts.
Exit interviews are more about honest feedback, hence they should be more on the oral side as
the tone, expression and conviction in statements made or feedback given can be judged better,
which is not possible in a written format. Moreover, most professionals will be wary of giving
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written statements although these can be used for objective questions and ratings, states Varma.
He adds that the manner of the questioning should be more like a discussion with open-ended
questions. The employee should be told about the purpose of the exercise and made to feel
comfortable. The environment should also be conducive for candidates to voice their opinions.
HOW TO CONDUCT AN EXIT INTERVIEW?
The exit interview may be conducted through a variety of methods. Some of the methods
include: face to face interview, phone interview and exit interview surveys.
Face to face interviews:- With this method, an HR representative meets individually with each
terminating employee.
Exit interview surveys are usually conducted by a form that is given to the employee on theirlast day or mailed to the employees home.
Telephone Interviews are conducted over the telephone by an HR Representative and outside
third party consultant.
TIPS FOR EXIT INTERVIEWS
Get a mixed panel of interviewers: HR personnel, department heads and maybe a
psychologist, but never the immediate boss of the interviewee.
Be focussed about the kind of information you would like to gather from the exit
interview.
Try to put the employee at ease as soon as the interview begins.
Keep the interview mood conversational; it should not appear a question and
answer session.
Ask both objective-type and open-ended questions.
Do not take a confrontational stand even when the employee turns argumentative.
Try to ensure that both you and the employee feel positive about each other when the interview
ends.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN INTERVIEW
What did you most enjoy about your job?
What did you least enjoy about what you were doing?
What did you like about the management style at the company?
What did you dislike about the management style at the company?
What would you have changed at the company if you had been given the
opportunity?
Is there anything that would have resulted in your staying with the company?
What is your new position providing you differently from your position here?
EXIT INTERVIEWS AIMS AND OUTCOMES
Exit interviews are best conducted face-to-face because this enables better communication,
understanding, interpretation etc., and it provides far better opportunity to probe and get to the
root of sensitive or reluctant feelings. However, postal or electronic questionnaires are better
than nothing, if face-to-face exit interviews are not possible for whatever reason (although I
remain to be convinced that there is never a proper excuse for not sitting down for 30 minutes
with any departing employee.....)
In some cases perhaps a particularly shy employee may prefer to give their feedback in a
questionnaire form, in which case this is fine, but where possible, face-to-face is best.
In terms of managing the interview, listen rather than talk. Give the interviewee time and space
to answer. Coax and reassure where appropriate, rather than pressurise. Interpret, reflect and
understand (you can understand someone without necessarily agreeing). Keep calm, resist the
urge to defend or argue - your aim is to elicit views, feedback, answers, not to lecture or
admonish. Ask open 'what/how/why' questions, not 'closed' yes/no questions, unless you require
specific confirmation about a point. 'When' and 'where' are also more specific qualifying
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questions, unless of course they are used in a general context rather than specific time or
geographic sense. 'Who' should be used with care to avoid witch-hunts or defamatory risks
(moreover many exit interviewees will be uncomfortable if asked to name people or allocate
personal blame - exit interviews are not about 'blame', the allocation of which is not constructive
and should be avoided for anything other than very serious complaints or accusations, which
must then be suitably referred as follow-up would be beyond the normal exit interview remit.
Prepare your exit interview questions and topics that you'd like to explore, especially when you
believe that the interviewee has good experience, appreciation and understanding.
Take notes and/or use a prepared questionnaire form.
Importantly, see also the job interviews page for interviews techniques, which relate to exit
interviews too. Remember simple planning aspects such as arranging a suitable time and place,avoiding interruptions, taking notes, preparing questions, being aware of the body-language and
feelings of the interviewee and adjusting your own approach accordingly, etc.
Obviously the style of exit interview is different for someone who is being asked to leave,
retiring, being made redundant, dismissed, or leaving under a cloud, compared to an employee
leaving whom the organization would prefer to retain. However everyone who leaves should be
given the opportunity of an exit interview, and the organization can learn something from every
situation. In certain situations (where appropriate) the exit interview also provides a last chanceto change a person's mind, although this should not be the main aim of the exit interview
situation.
When the interview is complete say thanks and wish the interviewee well. If there is some
specific checking or follow-up to do then ensure you do it and report back accordingly.
After the interview look at the answers and think properly - detached and objective - about what
their meaning and implications.
Take action as necessary, depending on your processes for analysing and reporting exit interview
feedback. If there's an urgent issue, or the person wants to stay and you want to keep them, then
act immediately or the opportunity will be lost.
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BENEFITS OF EXIT INTERVIEW
y They provide an opportunity to 'make peace' with disgruntled employees, who might
otherwise leave with vengeful intentions.
y Exit interviews are seen by existing employees as a sign of positive culture. They are
regarded as caring and compassionate - a sign that the organisation is big enough to
expose itself to criticism.
y Exit interviews accelerate participating managers' understanding and experience of
managing people and organizations. Hearing and handling feedback is a powerful
development process.
y Exit interviews help to support an organization's proper HR practices. They are seen as
positive and necessary for quality and effective people-management by most
professional institutes and accrediting bodies concerned with quality management of
people, organizations and service.
y The results and analysis of exit interviews provide relevant and useful data directly into
training needs analysis and training planning processes.
y Exit interviews provide valuable information as to how to improve recruitment and
induction of new employees.Exit interviews provide direct indications as to how to improve staff retention.
y Sometimes an exit interview provides the chance to retain a valuable employee who
would otherwise have left (organizations often accept resignations far too readily
without discussion or testing the firmness of feeling - the exit interview provides a final
safety net).
y A significant proportion of employee leavers will be people that the organization is
actually very sorry to leave (despite the post-rationalisation and sour grapes reactions of
many senior executives to the departure of their best people). The exit interview
therefore provides an excellent source of comment and opportunity relating to
management succession planning. Good people leave often because they are denied
opportunity to grow and advance. Wherever this is happening organizations need to
know about it and respond accordingly.
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y Every organization has at any point in time several good people on the verge of leaving
because they are not given the opportunity to grow and develop, at the same time,
ironically, that most of the management and executives are overworked and stretched,
some to the point of leaving too. Doesn't it therefore make good sense to raise the
importance of marrying these two situations to provide advantage both ways - ie.,
facilitate greater delegation of responsibility to those who want it? Exit interviews are an
excellent catalyst for identifying specific mistakes and improvement opportunities in this
vital area of management development and succession.
y Exit interviews, and a properly organised, positive exit process also greatly improve the
chances of successfully obtaining and transferring useful knowledge, contacts, insights,
tips and experience, from the departing employee to all those needing to know it,
especially successors and replacements. Most leavers are happy to help if you have the
courage and decency to ask and provide a suitable method for the knowledge transfer, be
it a briefing meeting, a one-to-one meeting between the replacement and the leaver, or
during the exit interview itself.
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CHAPTER -2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Understanding Employee Cycle Through Exit Interviews: Conceptual Framework And
Case Illustration
Rohtas Kumar
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Ajay Kumar Garg
University Business School, Panjab University
Sarang JagdaleIndian Institute of Management Bangalore
Jai Y. Advani
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
South Asian Journal of Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, October - December 2004
From this article I have analysed that in this age of "knowledge workers", people are the most
important assets for the continual success of the organizations. The big question for
organizations is "What are the determinant factors to attract and retain the best talent". Nothing
less than a complete system of employee communication tools could serve to enhance an
organization's ability to retain its top talent.
These communication tools are employed by organizations to understand the employee cycle,
which helps in attracting and retaining talent by providing best fit. This paper conceptualizes the
methodology for understanding the employee cycle by using the information generated through
the exit interviews.
Previous research has focused on quantitative analysis of the data collected through exit
interviews ignoring the insights that qualitative analysis could have provided. Qualitative data
collected through open-ended questions are source of well-grounded and rich descriptions, and
explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts.
With qualitative data one can preserve chronological flow, see precisely the consequences of
each event, and derive fruitful explanations. Qualitative research framework to analyze the rich
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data collected through exit interviews is developed to gain a holistic (systematic, encompassing
and integrated) overview of the employee cycle: its logic, its arrangements, and its explicit and
implicit rules. The framework developed is illustrated by taking a case of a Software Company in
India.
Date posted: February 22, 2006 ; Last revised: February 22, 2006
2.Confession Times
By David J. Skyrme , Knowledge Management Expert .
This article tells that EVERY time an employee puts in his papers, a senior HR colleague of
mine starts preparing for what he terms the `confessional'---the Exit Interview. It is not
something that many HR managers look forward to because sometimes they can be emotionally
draining and depressing. Exit interviews are indeed confession times. If it is not done right, the
wrong approach is used or you are not sure what kind of feedback you want and how best to use
it, this last interview will have little meaning.
Exit interviews are valuable for organisations to know how to retain their talented staff and
improve their work culture. It is a perfect forum to find out the issues impacting the company. It
is a mistake to treat this as just one of the formalities to observe before someone leaves.
Managers need to know the right etiquette and `prepare' for this final conversation. Of course
there are always some tips that can help you get the most out of it.
3. The Importance of Exit Interviews
I have analysed that Exit interviews are a great resource for employers to find out what is going
right and wrong with their company. However, employees will most likely feel intimidated in an
exit interview, so it's important to give the reasons for it. The article gives few tips on what to do
and what not to do when participating in an exit interview. Exit interviews are excellent
opportunities to talk with employees about what they liked or what they didn't like about their
job. The human resource Professional conducting the interview should be open-minded about
this meeting, as he will get valuable information that can be used to make positive changes
within the organization.
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4. Use Exit Interviews to Dramatically Reduce Staff Turnover
This article mainly enlightens the idea about how exit interviews helps in reducing staff turnover.
In the present scenario what is the first thing companies would do if they started losing their key
customers to their competitors? Well the simplest way to find out why they are leaving and stopthe loss of business is to obviously ask them. To find out what made them leave you and what
attracted them to another supplier. In the same way, you should make exit interviews with
employees who leave your business a standard part of their procedures.
5. Reasons why employees leave?
Since from studying this article I came to know about that one of the common reasons for
employees to leave is incompatibility with their boss/ superior, it is smart to let the employeedecide whom he wants to talk to besides the HR manager. There may be things he does not want
to discuss with the HR department. You may find it easy to conduct the interview in your office
but sometimes it may intimidate the employee enough for him to remain silent. If possible have
it on a neutral territory. It can be done informally too, over a cup of coffee or even lunch.
As one of the main reasons behind exit interviews is to improve the company so that
other employees don't leave, frame your questions in such a way that they elicit thoughtful
responses rather than safe platitudes. Remember not to make it an interrogation. Just listen and
do not defend.
Keep the session non-controversial so as to get as much information as you can. Let the
employee speak his mind about what he thinks of the company and its people, air his grievances
of the wrongs done to him, if any. Any learning that you carry from this `confessional' will only
help you avoid more such sessions in the future. Learn and act after every exit interview. One of
the goals of an exit interview is to learn from them so that you can put processes in place, which
will reduce attrition rate.
7.The Exit Interview - A Valuable Tool for Reducing Turnover
-Contributed By Sheryl R. Sever.
This article tells about how employee turnover get impacted by the exit interviewsThe exit
interview is often overlooked as an extremely valuable retention and organizational effectiveness
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tool. The purpose of exit interviews is to understand individuals' perceptions and experiences and
get feedback about the job the employee held, the work environment, and the organization. A
well-crafted exit interview system can help reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction
and commitment. The exit interview should be positive, relaxed, and ensure that employee leaves
on a good note. Its great PR. Some employees may even decide to return to your company
8.Conducting an Exit Survey - Why bother if they're already leaving?
From the given information I have analysed that many of experts think that conducting exit
interviews is wastage of time and money. Actually in organizations who cares about what
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employees that are leaving our company think? The fact that we're letting them go means we
didn't really want them anyway.
Chances are they're a disgruntled staff member who will just use it as an opportunity to rant. So
why should I listen to what they have to say about our business?' What do you do if you have a
hole in your bucket? You plug it! (Fast), A great opportunity to learn from your mistakes, The
'naked truth. A pulse on HR program effectiveness. Protect your employment brand and
reputation.
9.Increasing Employee Retention through Employee Exit Interviews
Employee exit interviews are an important part of HR management and monitoring employee
retention and satisfaction. Just as it is important to hold a sales interview to find out why you did
not get an account, it is important to understand why an employee leaves and what information
you can use to avoid future employee losses.
Avoidable losses result from employee job dissatisfaction, poor management practices, the lack
of advancement opportunity, and sometimes personal harassment by or conflict with a co-worker
or manager. A recent employee retention survey suggests that nearly 70% of employees leave
their jobs because they do not feel valued! Another purpose is to help employers avoid litigation
down the road, caused by illegal activities or by "disgruntled" employees.
Employee exit interviews can change the climate of the organization by changing management
style, making changes that reflect employee opinions, and creating value recognition programs
where needed. One key to increasing the employees opinion of the organization is in the
management of expectations. Realistic job expectations are important and management should
focus on creation of proper expectations.
CHAPTER-3
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Different ways of conducting exit interview
Powerful On-line Retention Diagnostics
Almost 90% of managers believe employees leave because of 'pull' factors such as better pay orcareer opportunities - rather than 'push' factors that occur long before employees start looking for
greener pastures. Organisations that keep ahead of these realities will reap the rewards ofsustained competitive advantage.
Online Exit Interviews
Save time and money by outsourcing your exit interviews. Workforce Retention's model for
collecting and reporting online data is based on extensive research focussed on illiciting truesentiment from exiting employees. Too often the power of data captured through exit interviews
is not realised. Workforce Retention offers a cost effective exit interview program that provides
powerful insight into why your key talent is leaving. Workforce Retention's model will save HR
time, reduce overheads.
Phone Exit Interviews
Outsource your exit interviews with Workforce Retention's cost effective third party exit
interview programs. Using specialised staff to sensitively collect information from exitingemployees via a telephone exit interview, Workforce Retention successfully uncovers the root
cause of employee turnover and allows you to view powerful online reports on such things
as; the top five reasons for leaving, demographic profiles of former employees and insightful
drill downs into reasons for exiting.
Internal Exit Interviews
You can have the flexibility of allowing internal staff such as HR or management conduct
internal exit interviews for your organisation with the reassurance of knowing the exit data is
being captured centrally and reported objectively for the entire organisation.
New Powerful Retention Tool -
Workforce Retention has developed a Retention, Engagement & Commitment Assessment
Program RECAP. This powerful diagnostic tool helps you identify flight risk and nip it in the
bud within 12 months.
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It has two-fold value. Firstly, it captures the preferences, values and expectations of each
individual as they enter the workforce. Then six months later, it recaptures the employees
satisfaction against those same unique preferences. The comparative data highlights important
gaps and identifies the risk of losing the employee through a retention index, and their level of
engagement and commitment to the organisation through an engagement and commitment index.
The data is captured independently encouraging greater candour from the individual via email
workflow. It is then compiled into a one-page profile that the manager accesses via a web link.
How Do We Compare The Data?
The data is taken from the employee as they enter the workforce. At this point the culture, norms
and attitudes of the workplace have not yet made an impression on the individual so their
expression about what they value is untainted and candid. Six months later those questions rated
with high importance are given a satisfaction rating by the employee.
INDIAN SCENAIRO OF EXIT INTERVIEWS
In India the trend of exit interviews are not so prevalent. The exit interviews are not taken
formally in the India. Informal procedure is adopted by Indian companies. They just get the
information from the employee at the time of resignation. The data is not formally compiled
properly. It is just an informal talk between the employee and employer that why he is leaving
the job. The role of exit interviews has always been debated. While there are many who vouch
for it as one of the best ways to get feedback on people and processes in an organisation,
detractors insist that it is nothing more than a HR formality. Their argument goes like this. Is it
possible to derive objective assessments from people who are about to leave a company? Will
their disclosures be free from personal bias? Would it not have been better to ask them the same
questions six months earlier and act on it to make them stay back? Does the organisation really
believe that the information obtained from an exit interview can help in retaining the remaining
employees? Though the list of questions is long, in the IT/BPO industry exit interviews are
regarded as an important tool that may lead to lower employee turnover.
However at the same time some of the major companies do believe in taking interviews of
employees who are going to leave. Some of the names of companies are given below
y Motorola
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y DCM Shri ram Consolidated Limited (DSCL)
y Wipro
y NIIT
y Whirlpool
y Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
y Infosys
y Balaji firms
y TVA Infotech
y Kenexa Technologies
y Epicenter Technologies
Approaching exit interviews with a closed mind is self-defeating. Interviewers tend to
rationalise: they dont want to acknowledge negative comments, says Aquil Busrai, Executive
Director (HR), Motorola.
As most exiting employees dont speak the whole truth, Busrai takes the following measures:
Keeps a tight check on the quality of the exit interviews;
Scans the interview formats to ensure that his HR team doesnt do a
slapdash job.
A consultant at Andersen Consulting says, Exiting employees want to leave with a feel-good
factor, so that the channels of returning remain open. Thus, the inadequacies of the job are rarely
highlighted. The most crucial question is: how do you gain the trust of your employees? The
opportune time, the consultant feels, is to wait until the dues have been settled.
At DSCL exit interviews are conducted on the last day of the tenure of a exiting employee.
However, companies like Motorola and Whirlpool prefer to delay the interview till the last day.
Well-trained HR managers are the best bet for extracting quality information from exiting
employees. However, exit interviews should be conducted by someone not in the direct line of
command, says Dilip Ranjekar, Corporate Executive Vice President (HR), Wipro.
Eventually, firms must capture the information emerging from these sessions. In-depth
interviews coupled with a structured questionnaire tend to be exhaustive and rich in detail.
Companies that cotton on to the need for in-depth interviews often strike a goldmine of
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information. Senior HR managers at DSCL spend at least two hours talking to employees who
are leaving.
The key question, according to DSCLs HR head Radhakrishna, which gets the employees to
reveal what they think, is: If we could change some things to get you back, what would theybe?
He feels that to get an idea about the exiting employees mental make-up companies should take
the help of behavioural psychologists
y Companies like Motorola and Whirlpool prefer to delay the interview till the last day.
y Balaji firms use to conduct it a week before the departure of an employee.
y NIIT use to do one-one interaction
After recession
Many IT companies including Infosys, Wipro and Accenture have unofficially
stopped taking exit interviews for employees in the last few months.
While HR personnel at firms never conducted exit interviews for staff leaving through
involuntary attrition (due to bad performance), this practice is now being extended to those who
leave voluntarily as well, according to industry sources.Further, a large part of the voluntary attrition now includes several employees who are being
forced to leave on the pretext of poor performance and lack of projects.
Companies are not seeing adequate value in these exit interviews, as mostly only negative
feedback comes through. Also, there are companies like Mphasis which outsource exit
interviews to third party consultants which adds to the cost of operation.
An Infosys employee told Financial Chronicle, Unlike earlier, employees who leave voluntarily
are not given an opportunity to give feedback through exit interviews. Earlier employees were
asked to provide reasons for quitting and the delivery manager would take inputs personally. But
now an employee just fills a basic form on the internet and then you leave. No emphasis is
placed on feedback anymore.
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The open door policy is there just for namesake. However, according to people in the know
there is no official communication on this practise. Said Vamshi, who was asked to quit Wipro a
couple of months ago, Companies feel it is a waste of time and money since employees leaving
in this recessionary environment will tend to give negative feedback.
Agreeing with this, a project leader with Accenture said that he was told, unofficially, to stop
taking exit interviews for his team. However, companies like TCS and MphasiS are exceptions.
MphasiS HR head R Elango said, People tell you lot of things about the organisation that one
doesnt get to know otherwise. However he concurs that some of his peer firms who are
retrenching or optimising their headcount have stopped the process.
Their logic it seems is: Why spend so much on these interviews? he added.
Officially, there was no response from Wipro and TCS on the issue.
According to Anshuman Das ofCareernet, which has forayed into outplacement service forIT
industry, an exit interview for a single person in India on average would cost about Rs
3,000 and $200 (over Rs 9,000) for an employee in the US. Most companies outsource their
processes to third party HR firms to conduct exit interviews and outplacements.
Survey results: TechRepublic members weighin on exit interviews
byMike Walton | Oct 27, 2000 7:00:00 AM
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What is a Good Participation Rate for Exit Interviews?
Research shows that the average response rate for paper and pencil exit
interviews is approximately 30-35 percent. This means that a company with 2000 employees and
a 15 percent turnover rate would expect to receive about 100 completed exit interviews per year.
At this participation level, the organization is getting exit feedback from just five percent of the
total employee population.
With just a little extra effort, you should be able to double that response rate. Sixty-five percent
or better is a good goal for exit interview participation. This can be accomplished with paper and
pencil exit interviews, web based online exit interviews and telephone exit interviews.
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Measuring Your Participation in the Exit Interview
To measure your response rate, divide the number of completed exit interviews by
the number of employees from whom you requested an exit interview. Ideally the second number
should equal the total number of terminations but for practical reasons this is generally not the
case. As an example, if you have 125 completed exit interviews from 300 people whom you
asked to complete an exit interview, your participation rate is 125 / 300 which equals .416 or
41.6 percent.
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Best Exit Interview Ever
BACK TO HOME PAGE
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WHY IN INDIA IT IS NOT SO FAMOUS?
Just a formality?
Most people leaving an organisation do not consider exit interviews as anything more than an
HR formality. The reason is not difficult to guess. I left my previous company because I was
finding it difficult to continue working with my project head who was not a peoples person. In
fact, many of my colleagues were unhappy working with him. I thought that the exit interview
would be a good platform to reveal the problem, because even if I were leaving others would
benefit. I realised how wrong I was because the organisation has done nothing even after four
months, although they have lost two more people, says one lady who asked not to be named,
and who is now working with a Pune-based organisation.
Sinha says that if a trend emerges not from a bunch of interviews about a certain practice that the
company follows (and which leads to dissatisfaction), then that practice needs to be examined.
This could also be true for organisational structures and key personalities, he points out.
Sceptics argue that if the common questions asked during exit interviews are actually asked
every six months it can go a long way toward making employees happy. If feedback from these
question and answer sessions are used to implement improvements in the organisation, it might
stop many employees from leaving in the first place.
Factors why india is not using exit interviews to great extent
Cost
An exit interview for a single person in India on average would cost about Rs
3,000 and $200. After the recessionary period no employer wants to pursue this activity more.
Because the cost cutting is main criterion for them to be competitive in the market so they
mainly concerned about the cost cutting there fore they had been quitting from these type of
interviews for the employees who are leaving.
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Time
Employer thinks that it s the wastage of time and resources to be spent on the
employees who are leaving from the organization. Because they have become non-performing
assets to them, as they dont need them in organization then why to waste time and resources onthe departing employees. The process is predictably simple while most people think its a big
waste of time. If a person resigns, you already know why he is leaving. But mostly the stated
reasons are far from true, most resignations state personal reasons or better prospects. If one is
being discharged, he will be angry and wont tell anything useful anyway. Why bother then?
WHAT TO DO TO INCREASE RESPONSE RATESFOR EMPLOYEE EXIT
INTERVIEWS?
Employees who leave your organization are generally willing to provide feedback. However,
where termination is due to employee deficiency or cutbacks, the employee may fear, be
dismayed, or even be angry at the company. To obtain useful information in this type of situation
requires special care. It is useful to identify why employees sometimes choose not to participate
or complete exit interviews.
Face to face exit interviews are uncomfortable for the employee.
Psychologically the person may not want to participate they may be in denial or
want to leave this chapter in their lives behind.
The exit interview may be too long, detailed or contains requests for unimportant
information.
The exit interview questions may be confusing or personally invasive.
Employees dont believe that the company will value the exit interviewinformation provided.
Employees are afraid of repercussions from information provided or statements
made.
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Employees are angry with the company, the employment situation, management
or co-workers.
Employees forget to complete the interview or lose the interview form.
Given a 5-10 minute time window and that about 7 multiple choice questions can be answered
per minute, 35-50 questions is the maximum. Text input questions take longer and will decrease
the number of multiple choice questions (trade 1 text question for 3-5 multiple choice questions).
For all of the reasons discussed above, keep employee exit interview questions simple and short,
focusing on evaluations of different job components (effectiveness of) and identification of
needed changes. Questions about feelings and emotions are particularly difficult, especially if the
employee has been terminated from the job.
Including Former Employees in the Exit Interview Feedback Loop
Angry employees who are angry or feel they have been treated unfairly have the greatest
potential to damage the company. However, these same employees also place great value on the
opportunity to have their say and provide feedback to someone who might listen to their side of
the story.
Tell employees leaving the company that their feedback will be evaluated by the director of HR
and that their comments and evaluations are important. If the employee makes suggestions, it is
appropriate to send a letter thanking them for their honesty and to report on the value and
implementations that are to be made based on their recommendations. No doubt, the employee
still has friends at the company who may learn of the communication and the value the company
places on suggestions for improving the workplace.
Build Your Exit Interview Process to Increase Response Rates
The employee exit interview process within your organization can be structured to maximize the
quantity (response rates) and quality of feedback. Begin with an audit of your exit interview
process to determine how employee exit interviews are conducted.
How is HR notified that an employee exit interview needs to take place?
How soon after the notice is received does the interview need to take place?
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Who is responsible for initiating and conducting the exit interview?
How is the employee notified of the exit interview?
When does the employee receive notification of the need for an exit interview?
What is the employee told about the exit interview?
Is the interview process unbiased and free of repercussions?
What encouragements are used to secure employee cooperation for the exit
interview?
When and where will the employee complete the exit interview?
Is there easy access the exit interview materials?
Does the employee have privacy when completing the exit interview?
Does the employee have the choice of completing the interview at work or at
home?
Is the exit interview easy to complete?
Are supervisors and managers supportive of the exit interview process?
Are supervisors and managers fearful about receiving negative feedback from
employees?
Is it easy for employees to submit their exit interviews?
Post Employee Exit Interview Followup: Job Comparison Questionnaire
Approximately three months after the completion of the employee exit interview survey,
consider sending a Job Comparison Questionnaire that contains questions related to current
employment status, and asks for a comparison of their new and previous job with your
organization.
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Exit interviews: A necessary evil?
Exit interviews have become routine in organisations before final departure of employees. But
ask them "why?" and most prefer a studied silence. Several organisations are conducting them as
a matter of course without bothering about the inferences to be drawn from an analysis of suchinterviews. Are they really necessary in a sector which has one of the highest rates of attrition?
Do exit interviews give an insight into the problem? Or are we knocking on
the wrong door for the right answers and are therefore, still clueless?
Employees leave an organisation for various reasons. But the ones leaving voluntarily,
following office protocol, will have valuable information which can be used as a resource to
compile data about the organisation. If you want your organisations true
picture through the eyes of your employees, then exit interviews are an invaluable managementtool. The answers provided in exit interviews can be the basis for formulating a draft policy for
employee retention. Since the feedback on the organisation is from
exiting employee, they are expected to be genuine and unbiased.
Typically, an exit interview is a meeting between a senior executive from the company
(preferably human resources (HR) department) and the exiting employee. It's easier to fight the
enemy if you know where to hit. And to fight the giant of 'attrition', exit
interviews can be used as the arrow to strike right at its Achilles' heel.
Exit interviews open doors to internal systems and workings within the organisation that affect
an employee's career in the company. They provide an insight into the values that employees
attach to systems, processes and management of the organisation. Many reforms in the appraisal
systems, leave management, human resource management and many other improvement
initiatives can be taken on the basis of exit feedback.
Sharing her opinion on exit interviews, Surbhi Saxena, Senior Manager, Employee Relations,
First Advantage Offshore Services Private Limited said, "Exit interviews are a cost-effective
means of collecting data to not just help in improving recruitment, selection, placement and
training practices, but also reduce employee turnover. These interviews help
in identifying poor practices in an organisation that can be then eliminated or remedied." Most
importantly they help in minimising the risk of legal actions later, Saxena adds.
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Since these interviews are generally conducted just before employees' departure, they can
disclose their feelings about the company without the fear of repercussion. But Saxena believes,
"A better time to conduct such a meeting is while an employee is still committed and not when
he/she is on the way out. Ideally, at least a week before his/her departure."
Explaining the reasons for varied employee turnover, Navin Joshua, Executive Director,
Customer India said, "Just as the motivating factor for each employee varies so does the factor
resulting in the turnover of the employee.
However, exit interview feedback does help study of employee turnover trend." But cautions
Joshua, "To rely solely on feedback would be foolhardy, for an employee on his way out may be
biased and judgmental about the company and its systems. The organisation should
spend an equal time gaining feedback from employees throughout their association with the
organisation."
Saxena too supports, the view and cautions, "With exit feedback you need reality-check so that it
does not lead to a witch-hunt." Saxena believes that these interviews can sometimes lead to
character assassination and may divert from the main goal of conducting such
interviews.
The interview should be conducted professionally and as far as possible steer away from
personal grievances. Therefore, though more stress should be laid on the right questions to ask, it
is equally important to know which questions are not to be asked." The employees should be
well informed about the process of exit interviews. Although, legally an employee can refuse to
give this interview, if it is communicated well in advance within the organisation that it is a
standard procedure and all the exiting employees are required to give it, it may not scare them
away.
Exit interviews can also help in creating a positive environment, wherein
the employee may want to re-join at a later stage and would not hesitate to do so.
Saxena stresses on some of the pitfalls to be avoided while conducting these interviews, "Treat
the exiting employee with respect and ensure that he or she knows that there is
no penalty for speaking freely or otherwise." She adds, "Have a trusted person to chair these
meetings. The person conducting the exit interview should be one with a good amount of
individual credibility and should avoid leading questions, questions on specific issues or
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individuals. He should also be a good listener. The interview should be properly timed." Last but
not the least, she adds, "It should project a good picture of the organisation to
the exiting employee and show it in a caring light.
Some organisations even hire a third party consultant or a behavioural psychologist to make this process of conducting exit interviews more effective and reliable.
"According to a research, when a company switched to a third party firm, it found less than 70
percent correlation between what employees said during an internal company
exit interview vs when interviewed by a neutral third party," said Saxena.
The interviews should be precise and the questions relevant. Says Joshua, "The content of an
interview must be specific to an organisation's requirement. However, in general, the interview
should focus largely on systems, processes and people's behaviour that directly affect the
employees' day-to-day working in the organisation." After the interview, the crucial part is to
assimilate all the data in statistical format so as to draw conclusions. The way in which this data
is processed leads to better inferences and concrete results. Says Saxena, "Try and assimilate the
data into various buckets. It should be presented as a statistical model as opposed to getting into
individual issues. Use the result to generate trends that can show areas of repetitive concern that
need to be addressed."
To make it a better experience for the employee and the employer, the environment or the place
where the interview is conducted should be informal and away from the work area. The
interviewer should be unbiased with a neutral approach. Some companies even request
employees for written feedback for more specific and accurate record. All in all, there is no
reason to deny the importance of exit interviews for the employer and the employee both.
If conducted properly, it can help the employer ensure that no other employee leaves for similar
reasons. It also benefits the departing employee with constructive feedback and he can leave on a
positive note with hopes of returning in future, if so desired.
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Guidelines for determining the exit interview content
As with all questionnaires, it is important to strike the right balance between information needs
and survey length when putting together an exit survey instrument. There are six key guidelines
that should be kept in mind to help ensure that the end result is a useful and effective survey:
1. Do not focus solely on the employees reasons for leaving although this is
extremely important information, it is also critical to include broader measures about the
employees attitudes and experiences so as to help identify the issues and concerns that
may not surface when asking about reasons for leaving.
2. Ensure that there is more than one way for employees to express their reasons for
leaving including several open-ended questions for them to include their own
comments so as to get a full perspective on the decision to leave.
3. In order to get beyond a focus on the decision itself, incorporate key attitudinal
measures such as the employees satisfaction with the job itself, an assessment of the
organizations work culture and effectiveness of its various lines of communication, how
well the employees job responsibilities were defined, perceived opportunities for
advancement and the employees perspective on the amount of training, feedback and
recognition received.
4. Recognize that, for maximum effect, any exit survey system needs to be
implemented consistently and in such a way as to encourage employees to share their
opinions as honestly and candidly as possible.
5. Incorporate the ability to examine results not only on the basis of individual results
but for the organization as a whole, as well as on the basis of the relevant diagnostics,
such as region, department or manager.
6. Remember that there is an important distinction to be made between idiosyncratic
reasons for leaving, over which the organization has little control, and systemic reasons
for leaving, over which the organization can exercise substantial control.
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RECOMMANDATIONS
y Remember that they are actually helping you here by sharing what could be valuable
information. So be positive, dont take criticisms personally. There may be things you
do not agree with but dont be defensive. Be dignified and thank them for their
feedback.
y If you do this consistently with every person that leaves youll get a clearer picture of
what motivates your staff and what you could do to improve employee satisfaction (and
therefore retention).
y Ensure that you conduct an exit interview consistently with every leaver regardless
of whether they are going to a competitor, moving out of town, taking a career break or
even retiring. Theyll all have something valuable to tell you.y This information is priceless. You may not be able to use it to keep the person who is
leaving, but you can certainly use it to prevent others leaving and so save yourself a lot
of time, money and effort in recruiting and training replacements
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CONCLUSION
With the recognition exit interviews can provide an opportunity for valuable feedback, new
approaches are being used. Trends in exit interviews today include outsourcing and automated
surveys. Some companies have opted to delegate the exit interview to a third party firm that
specializes in conducting these interviews. The rationale is departing employees may be more
open and honest with an objective third party. These interviewers are often trained in asking
probing questions and can elicit more information.
The information solicited from the exit interview is only valuable if it used. It must be
disseminated to the appropriate people within the organization and then actually used to make
positive changes. Otherwise, the company has missed a valuable opportunity
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES OF WEB PAGES
y http://www.humanresources.hrvinet.com/exit-interview/y http://jobsearchtech.about.com/cs/interviewtips/a/exit_interview_2.htm
y http://jobsearchtech.about.com/cs/interviewtips/a/exit_interview.htm
y http://www.expertbusinesssource.com/blog/1260000326/post/590037259.html
y http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_interview
y http://www.insightlink.com/exit_interviews_employee_turnover.html
y http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20050117/technologylife01.shtml
y http://www.mydigitalfc.com/careers/it-sector-exit-interviews-are-thing-past-419
y http://livemint.com/2008/07/16225210/More-firms-opting-for-exit-int.html
y http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=882391
y http://www.efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnewspbpo.asp?edid=22838
y http://www.hinduonnet.com/jobs/0312/2003123100170200.htm
y http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=49201
y http://www.exitinterviews.com.au/Use-Exit-Interviews-To-Dramatically-Reduce-Staff-
Turnover.htm
y http://www.exitinterviews.com.au/disappearing-knowledge-are-exit-interviews-the-wits-
end.htm
y http://www.exitinterviews.com.au/disappearing-knowledge-are-exit-interviews-the-wits-
end.htm
y http://www.exitinterviews.com.au/The-Exit-Interview.htm
y http://www.exitinterviews.com.au/exitsurvey-exit-survey-benefits.htm
y
http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurveys/a/exitinterview.htmy http://media.web.britannica.com/ebsco/pdf/27/27448971.pdf
y http://www.itpeopleindia.com/20020624/management1.shtml
y http://www.businessballs.com/exitinterviews.htm
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REFERENCES OF ARTICLES
David J. Skyrme , Knowledge Management Expert, (1992) CONFESSION
TIMES Advances in Developing Human Resources, May; vol. 11: pp. 189 - 203.
Marsden, Cook, Kalleberg (1993), Importance of exit interviews, Apr ; vol. 27:
pp. 163 - 189.
Ronald W. Perry (2004), Use of exit interviews to Dramatically Reduce Staff
Turnover with Supervisory Trust,Review of Public Personnel Administration, Jun; vol.
24: pp. 133 - 149.
Kumar Rohtas, Ajay Kumar Garg ,Sarang Jagdale ,Jai Y. Advani (2004)Understanding Employee Cycle Through Exit Interviews: Conceptual Framework And
Case IllustrationSouth Asian Journal of Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, October -
December 2004
Steven M. Sommer (1996), Reasons why employees leave Dec; vol. 26: pp.
1113 - 1132
Sheryl R. Sever.,(2000), The Exit Interview - A Valuable Tool for Reducing
Turnover Jul; vol. 49: pp. 977 - 993.
Peter J. Robertson, Carlos Wing-Hung Lo, and Shui-Yan Tang(2004),
Conducting an Exit Survey - Why bother if they're already leaving? Mar ; vol. 39: pp. 3
24.
Gordon R. Brooks (2006), Increasing Employee Retention through Employee
Exit Interviews ,Aug; vol. 19: pp. 211 236.
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