03/ 28/ 2002
by Drew Sullivan
Just because an employee quits doesn't mean they are no longer valuable to you. Smart small business owners know those same employees could hold the secret to improving the company and preventing future departures.
Exit interviews, a mainstay of large corporations for years, are increasingly being turned to by small business owners to improve their practices.
"We spend a lot of money on training folks and we want to know why they are leaving," says Mary Curtin, director of human resources at 4imprint, a 240-employee distributor of promotional materials based in Oshkosh, Wisc. "It also keeps us in tune with what's happening with our employees."
Managers and supervisors are often wrong about why employees leave--something skillful exit interviews can uncover.
"When someone leaves, most employers believe it's for more pay. Employees lead them to believe that because it's an easy out," says Jennifer Kunz, coordinator of exit interview services for MRA--The Management Association Inc., www.mranet.org, an employers' association for Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
But Kunz, who conducts interviews for member companies and helps members design exit interview programs, says the number one reason employees leave is the quality of supervision.
If employees say they're leaving for more money, Kunz advises interviewers to probe deeper and find out why the employee started looking for a new job in the first place.
Curtin, Kunz and others offer this advice for companies setting up exit interviews:
- Use a credible interviewer: someone who is a disinterested, non-biased third party who can provide confidentiality if needed. This can be a human resources professional or you can outsource the work.
- Provide confidentiality if appropriate. An employee won't criticize the boss if you're needed as a future reference.
- Be consistent. Have a set of questions that you use for everyone.
- Don't stop with the base questions. Learn to probe deeper.
- Make the program voluntary and target those who voluntarily leave the company.
- Periodically analyze the results. Too often they're filed away and never used.
What to ask
Suggested topics for exit interviews:
- How well are management and supervisors doing their job?
- How high or low is employee morale?
- Does the company fairly and consistently follow policies and procedures?
- How well were complaints handled?
- How good is communication between parts of the company?
- Is the rate of pay and the level of benefits adequate?
- Did employees get needed training and if so, how good was it?
- Did the company provide enough opportunities for advancement?
- Were employees given all the tools they needed to succeed?
- What traits and skills should future hires have?
- Ask about positives as well: What does the company do well?
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.
