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Main StoragePatrick Wolf
June 20, 2001
(This is a critique based upon an article about exit interviews)
One of the standard practices that occur when an employee leaves a company is the exit interview with a Human Resources representative. As more and more employees reach the end of their rope in the job place, there are a number of reasons why they eventually decide to quit. The reasons aren’t always financially related, as many would expect. Financial reasons for quitting a job rank next to last, just ahead of training opportunities. During a typical exit interview, the interviewee is asked a few questions regarding their decision, and a typical response by HR is “Well, good luck”. It would probably be rare that the departing employee would release their true opinions on their job or the company, so as to not burn any bridges when a future employer calls their current employer to find out about their potential new-hire. Little to no follow-up takes place in order to prevent another employee in the same general situation from leaving, but rather the HR department quickly starts recruiting to fill that job. From a company financial point of view, the average cost of replacing someone in Management is 18 months of their current salary, and 6 months pay for an hourly worker.
Companies are starting to use third-party interviews, which keep the employee’s comments confidential, while others try to achieve the same results though better in-house interviewing. Regardless, of which method is used, the chances are slim that someone will be totally honest, or would choose to retain their current employment status as a result of the exit interview.
Opinion
Having experienced the exit interview first hand, I can safely say that I have held back on giving my reasons for resigning. I would supply them with just enough information to speed up the process. As a highly regarded employee, managers in your department are generally a bit dismayed to see you go, but Human Resources will generally do little to work with the managers of your department in an attempt to retain you or prevent other coworkers from following in your footsteps. Even if more money was brought into the picture, statistics show that a majority of the employees will still quit within a year. If HR can get someone to do your job, at a cheaper price, chances are they will. Because of this, it is always nice to hear through the grapevine, that a company has gone through numerous people in the effort to replace you, and the people they did hire don’t have the high work ethic you did. Essentially, you get what you pay for, and in the long run a company has spent way more on these people than they would have to retain your services. All the while, you have a new job with better pay, better benefits, and better opportunities for professional growth.
The article also talks about organizations not knowing how to keep people, if they don’t know why they’re leaving. If companies would hold managers accountable as to why members of their team are leaving, situations could possibly be deflected. If an employee is treated like just another number, what incentive is there to stay? The only way out of that predicament is to learn new skills, and move on to the next company that is willing to hire you and subsequently compensate you for what you’re worth. Overall, I’ve noticed that switching jobs tends to yield higher rewards.
If an exit interview is just a formality with no follow-up, why bother?
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