The exit interview as a communication channel
8th March 2006 by Ron Shewchuk, ABC
Smart organizations know there’s a lot to learn from people who leave. With their shackles broken and the pursuit of other interests ahead, exiting employees have nothing to lose. It’s a great opportunity to get some fresh insights into obvious topics like what made them leave in the first place, what’s going on that might prompt others to leave, and what the departing employee really thinks of the company’s culture, work practices, policies, vision, business direction, and so on.
It’s good to know, for example, if one particular manager or executive is literally driving people out of the company. Or if a specific business practice is chewing up people and spitting them out. Or, in more jargony terms, whether the working environment could use some proactive retooling to help bolster retention levels ; )
Many companies don’t conduct exit interviews (I’ve left one or two where I would have liked an opportunity to provide some, uh, constructive feedback to management), and those who do often consider it an uncomfortable ritual, like changing a dirty diaper, that’s not particularly easy on the exit interviewer’s, or the company’s, self-esteem.
One way around it is the online exit poll, a tactic that I learned about from my old friends Tudor and Ryan Williams, whose company, TWI Surveys, does this kind of thing for its corporate clients. The idea is to institute a mandatory, web-based poll that becomes part of the standardized paperwork that an exiting employee has to complete to fulfil the terms of his or her severance. The poll can ask all the same questions as a real human, but with far less chance of hurt feelings and perhaps even a better chance of full candor. Plus, the results not only generate written comments, but also produce benchmarkable numbers that can pinpoint gaps and indicate trends.
I think this is a great idea, and it’s a tactic that communicators should be recommending to their counterparts in HR and organizational development. Or, if exit interviews or polls are already done, it’s time for communicators to tie in to a practice that could provide a motherlode of information to help inform and shape internal communications planning.
Exit communications. Something to think about, very seriously, in a world where the “war on talent” seems to be intensifying every day and the cost of replacing employees is far higher than the price of keeping them. Finding out why one person leaves might just prevent the next ones from following. It might also help prove our worth as communicators.
May 25th, 2006 at 6:48 am
Definitely I think it is of great help to have that practice. It can help to detect if it has to do with the company practices (low salaries, lack of recognition, training, benefits, etc.) or if it is about internal relationships and working environment (chief-collaborators). That could lead you to take measures on one way or another, implementing communication processes to change culture (habits) or creating some programs to improve communication through the different hierarchic levels. Either decision that is taken regarding the change of culture has to consider that it will be achieved only if management and middle management are aware and are literraly allies of Communications through the whole communication process. It is through them and starting with them that culture can change/improve, either by walking the talk or supporting as direct communicators with their own people.
May 25th, 2006 at 7:32 am
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Erika. I agree that many things have to come into allignment if this kind of approach is to work. That’s probably why it’s not done as often as it should. I wonder if there are any corporate communications plans that actually list exit interviews as a channel, or departing employees as an audience?