Exit interviews

Given the diversity of government sector workplaces, individual agencies are best placed to design, develop and implement an exit interview program that suits their agency’s operational and employment conditions. The purpose of this guide is to support you to do this according to best practice from within and outside the public sector.

Information from exit interviews can help agencies to assess organisational strengths and vulnerabilities, and target workforce management strategies to drive talent attraction, retention and performance.

Design principles

The program design should:

• have a clear goal and focus
• define which employees will participate
• enable the agency to identify:
  • turnover trends at an organisation or unit level and/or workforce segment
  • shifts in employee preferences
  • misalignment between employee experience and agency employee value proposition
  • systemic issues affecting employee retention
  • employee perception/observation of workplace culture
• be structured to align unique organisational, regional or business level requirements.

Data collection method

Research¹ shows that interviews and online surveys are the two most common methods to collect feedback from employees as they exit an organisation. The process of data collection and method you use depends on the unique needs of your organisation.

Potential benefits and risks of interview formats

Use interviews for:

• Roles or work areas experiencing high turnover
• To focus discussion or identify root causes of workplace issues.

Use surveys for:

• Generic roles with average levels of turnover
• Seeking feedback on standard roles.

Consider using a combination of interviews and surveys if appropriate.

Research² suggests that the average response rate for exit surveys is approximately 20%. There is currently no comparable research on response rates for exit interviews.

You can optimise participation and response rates for exit surveys with a communication plan that helps employees understand:

• the purpose of exit interviews, how their feedback will be collected and used by the organisation
• confidentiality in the process
•  time commitment required by the process.

Participation and response rates may also be higher where employees expect an exit interview and understand the purpose and process involved.

Accordingly, employee communication about the exit interview program should include:

• the purpose of the process
• information on employees who may participate in the process
• advice that participation in the process is voluntary, but strongly encouraged
• a brief outline of the process and timeframe
• an indication of who will conduct the interview
• confidentiality provisions in the collection, storage and use of information.

Regardless of the strategy adopted, exit interviews and surveys should be easily accessible to all employees, including employees with a disability.

The tool/s used should provide structured and unbiased data that:

• together with employee (engagement) surveys and workforce metrics provide an evidence-based view of the health of the workforce environment
• reflect the whole workforce, regardless of geographical location, or job role
• inform and helps the organisation to define what it has to offer existing and prospective employees
• may be collated or aggregated for feedback to the agency leadership
• can identify common and localised reasons for employees leaving
• can identify action needed to improve organisational systems, processes, policy and strategies, such as, job design, recruitment and selection systems and procedures
• reveal and link significant employee issues, such as factors that engage employees – or influence their decision to leave the organisation.

Other design considerations

A combination of closed- and open-ended questions will help you aggregate responses and identify trends and identify employees’ perspective on specific issues.

The number, type and focus of questions in an exit interview or survey will depend on the agency’s specific interest. Research suggests that response rates may be lower, with higher drop-off rates, if a survey is too long. As a guide, there should be no more than 25 to 30 questions.

Confidentiality

Ensuring confidentiality is an important factor influencing response rates. Confidentiality provisions should be clearly outlined in the agency’s exit interview program, including how the information will be collected, stored and used.

Provisions should outline if the information collected will be shared within the organisation; in what form (for example, aggregate data) and with whom (e.g the agency executive).

Administration

Typically exit surveys and interviews are managed by an agency’s HR area, but they can be administered by a skilled and experienced person from another part of the agency, or outsourced to an external provider.

Benefits and risks of interviews and surveys being conducted by an in-house and external interviewer

The ability to effectively capture information in exit interviews is crucial. If you are planning to do exit interviews in-house you should ensure all interviewers receive the necessary training and/or coaching to help make the interview more effective and a better experience for both the employee and the interviewer.

Interviews may be undertaken at any time after the employee notifies the agency of their intention to leave the organisation.

As illustrated by Figure 1, most interviews occur during the last week of employment.

Timing of conducting exit interviews and the benefits and pitfalls of each

 

Exit interview reports may:

• be aggregated at division or organisational level to maintain confidentiality
• indicate, or provide insights, on:
  • main reasons for/factors contributing to employees’ decision to leave
  • level of satisfaction with aspects of employees work experience, such as: job satisfaction, flexible work practices, career progression, salary, professional development opportunities
  • how the organisation might improve employees’ working experience
  • misalignment with the organisation’s employee value proposition, that is, what it says it offers employees
  • shifts in workplace trends
• be reported as part of the organisation’s periodic dashboard report.

Establish a process for:

• regularly reviewing and managing issues that arise from information provided, such as, discrimination, harassment and bullying
• periodic reviews of the agency’s exit interview process.

 Monitor how effective the process is by tracking:

• participation and response rates
• levels of correlation with other information sources, such as, the People Matter Employee Survey
• the level of detail, or insight, provided to help the organisation make workplace improvements.