Performance reviews and exit interviews might seem like very
different animals but they share an important quality: both are opportunities to
gather essential information for the future success of our people and our
organizations.
Performance reviews accomplish this when managers ask the
right questions—e.g., how their reports feel about their own contributions,
their interactions with coworkers, and the growth and development the company
is providing. (If you’re interested, you can read more on this topic in past
posts, “The
Art of Effective Performance Reviews,” and “Meeting
Employees’ Needs: Culture Management, Engagement, and Preventable Turnover.”)
Exit interviews, on the other hand, require similar but
specialized questions—questions that are appropriate to the fact that an
individual is leaving the organization. This type of questioning can pose a significant
challenge due to the unique dynamics and emotions involved. For instance, the
information we receive can depend heavily on whether or not employees are
leaving on good terms, their willingness to share honest opinions (i.e., fear
of burning bridges), the specific reasons behind their exit, and the like. How
the interviewer goes about her or his work makes all the difference.
The challenges and benefits of exit interviews are highlighted
by an article on TLNT.com, “You
Need to Stop Going Through the Motions on Exit Interviews,” and by another on
the StaffMasters website, “The
Importance of an Exit Interview.”
In the TLNT.com article, HR Acuity CEO Deborah Muller urges us to remember that the
biggest reason exit interviews end up being ineffective is that most HR people
who conduct them don’t really know what they’re doing. “An untrained
interviewer might not know how to configure the interview in order to make it
relevant to the employee’s role, level and functional area,” she writes. That’s
why trained professionals and specialized technology are so crucial to
maximizing the value of exit interviews. Muller points out that many companies
are outsourcing their exit interviews or training their HR teams to conduct these
interviews properly. Others are using secure links to interview modules that
enable departing employees to answer questions in relative anonymity (a key to
getting honest feedback).
The StaffMasters post offers interviewers a list of helpful questions
that range from the basic (What made you
decide to leave the company? and What
did you find most/least satisfying about working here?) to the complex and
potentially touchy (How would you rate
the level of support you received to perform your job duties? and What qualities do you think a person should
have to succeed in this organization?). The post encourages employers to be
consistent in the questions they ask of exiting employees, to maintain an
objective listening attitude, and to document all responses so that the feedback
can be leveraged to the organization’s benefit.
Interestingly, Jeffrey Sharlach
wrote about a different kind of issue in his recent Huffington Post piece, “Are
You Learning Too Much at Exit Interviews?” Sharlach is CEO of the international
communications firm, JeffreyGroup, and has taught in the MBA
Management Communication program at the NYU Stern School of Business. He noted that
many organizations only learn about crucial employee experiences and opinions during
exit interviews rather than during regular performance reviews when the information
could do far greater good. Sharlach remedied this situation at his own
organization by retooling the
performance review process, making it more of a two-way communication experience.
“We were amazed at what we started to learn from our staff
once given the opportunity to talk about themselves,” Sharlach writes. “We
began to treat each review session as an interview with a new employee,
learning more about the friction points in their current conditions and their
goals for future growth.”
Performance reviews and exit interviews may indeed be
different animals but the two share a connection that shouldn’t be overlooked.
And, as the articles referenced above remind us, both performance reviews and
exit interviews can be powerful tools for improving the performance of our
people and our companies.
We just need to conduct them properly.
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Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:
@TLNT_com
@TLNT_com
