How to Prepare Exit Interview Questions

You have the daunting task before you to conduct an exit interview for a member of your staff who is leaving for a better job opportunity. Here are the key questions to ask him.

Things You'll Need

• Tape and recorder
• Paper and pen

Instructions

1. Let your emotions take a back seat and this meeting could be a pivotal learning experience for you and the other managers. First and foremost, ask him to explain in his own words why he is leaving the company.

2. Gently dig deeper. Is there anything you or the company could have done to prevent the person from deciding to pursue another job? Find out what you could have done, in as much detail as possible. Write it all down for later reflection and discussion with HR and management.

3. What did the individual like best about the company and his job? What suggestions for improvement did he feel would be most valuable? Try to keep an accurate written record of his comments as well as an assessment of is mindset. Is he showing signs of veiled anger? Is he sad to be leaving? Did he have good long-standing relationships on the job?

4. Talk about perks, benefits and policy issues. Which of these was he most happy with and which was he not and why. Again, be as detailed as possible in documenting what transpired during the meeting.

5. Ask the employee what he would change about the company if he was the owner? Also, ask him what he thinks are the strong points of the company from an employee's perspective.

6. Ask him if he would recommend to other applicants that they apply for work at the company if the opportunity came to fruition? Why or why not? Listen carefully to his response.

7. Ask the employee if there is anything he would like to say to you as a representative of company management. At this point, some will express gratitude and some may show negative feelings. This is important to note as well.

8. The value in exit interviews is to ask similar questions to all applicants and look for trends in the responses. Try to keep to the same general outline for all exit interviews. After ten or more have been conducted and documented, a member of management should review all of these to assess common denominators.

9. As part of the interview questionnaire, it may be valuable to note specific details about the employee and their record with the company. In particular, note if the person was a problem employee or troublemaker. Or, if the individual was a star performer, this should also be stated for future edification.

Tips & Warnings

• Relax and your interviewee will do the same.

• The meeting should last no more than one hour.

• Copyright © ThereseHaberman2008