When you have someone on the team that gives notice, a few things probably go through your mind very quickly:
- Why are they leaving?
- How quickly can we replace them?
- Do we need to replace them, or can we incorporate their responsibilities into others?
- In terms of morale how much does it hurt the company?
All important thoughts for sure. But to me there is also one more important thing to do: the exit survey. We try and complete an exit survey with everyone who leaves the company.
Here are some of the questions we ask:
- Why have you decided to leave the company?
- What could we do to improve the atmosphere of the company?
- Did you receive enough training and support to do your job effectively?
- Do you think management adequately recognizes employees’ contributions?
- What do you think you will miss the most about the company?
- Under what circumstances, if any, would you consider returning to the company?
Our goal is too keep exit surveys short. I have heard too many stories of long exit surveys which I believe are counterproductive.
What are we missing?
What questions do you ask?
How important is the process to you?
Y.R. says:
In my experience, honest answers are hard to come by. Most exiting employees do not want to burn any bridges and thus will not give you a completely honest assessment of all the reasons they are leaving. Then you have the employees that give you brutally honest answers but you think maybe they just have an axe to grind. The answer is somewhere in the middle as to the state of your company. Good luck finding the truth.
Jennifer Stocks says:
I’m new at MARC, so you may already be doing this…but why not do an employee satisfaction survey? It could be anonymous and you might be able to identify and deal with problems before losing an employee.
Susan Hayes says:
Former employees are often queried by potential employees about their experiences.
My question would be, “what would you tell a close colleague who is considering working here?” This question may elicit both constructive description about the organization, and how the exiting employee’s goals and style fit with the organization.
Brent White says:
A number of years ago, I attended a seminar focusing on employee retention. The seminar leader said in order for people to remain at a company, they must feel (1) secure (2) accepted and (3) important. If one of more of these are not met, then you stand a very good chance of them leaving.
When I have talked to employees who are considering another opportunity or have decided to leave, I can generally tie their reason(s) back to one of the above. They make feel secure in their job and accepted by management and peers but simply don’t feel important or appreciated or recognized.
You can’t and don’t want to keep everyone forever. However, if you keep these 3 things in mind and do your best to make your most talented people feel secure, accepted and important then you will keep them longer! So remember “SAI” when it comes to your staff.