Dear Friends,

Our organizatins have all been facing attrition rates that are high and higher and we only hinder to the ever increasing routines of taking exit interviews. Here are a few pointers for an effective exit interview. Hope this shall serve the purpose of all if followed properly.

Only ask a few questions and then follow-up for details :

• Tell me the first time you thought that this might not be the place/company for you long-term. Asking the question this way will keep the employee from saying he got a better offer, is going to a job closer to home, etc. You want to find out why he was even interested in looking for other opportunities.

• If you were in your manager's position, what would you do differently? This is better than just asking what he liked or didn't like about the company. By asking what he would do in the role, it makes him a little more accountable for his answer.

• If you were opening your own business, who are the people working here that you would want to hire for YOUR company? People seem much more open to answering this than they are if you ask who the top performers are in the group. They personalize it as they consider having their own businesses.

• Who wouldn't you have working in your own company? Some will refuse to answer this, but by this time in the interview they are usually loosened up a bit.

• When you go to your next job, what will you tell them about our company? You want the person to actually hear himself saying good things about the company. There is something about getting someone to say something out loud that they remember. If the last thing a person tells you is that the company has a great atmosphere and great benefits, it may influence him to not go out and trash the company.

• If you could give your current supervisor/manager just one piece of advice, what would it. be? Sometimes this one question will make the entire interview worthwhile. You may learn there is something specific that the supervisor does that sabotages his own efforts to be successful; also, by limiting this to one suggestion, you find out what's really important.

• Can you tell me anything else about your experience here that might help me in my efforts to not lose good employees in the future? This is just an open-ended question to allow the employee to say anything he had on his mind that you may not have asked about.

• After the interview is over, exchange some pleasantries, wish him luck and say goodbye. As soon as possible, record any notes and prepare comments for the employee's manager.

Exit interviews take time and you will get a lot of information that is not credible or useful. However, the gems you occasionally unearth make the process worthwhile.

Any more points to add from your side ??

Sanjay Mewar

The survey developed by OfficeTeam was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 150 senior executives at the nation's 1,000 largest companies. "Whether or not they are leaving on good terms, employees should take the time to share their insight and suggestions for improvement," said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. "It's not always easy to offer constructive criticism but this feedback is valuable to the employer as long as it's delivered diplomatically." Advice for exiting on the right note: * Avoid burning bridges. Even if your work experience was not always smooth sailing, keep your interaction in the meeting positive and professional. Avoid negative comments about individual supervisors or co-workers. * Keep it constructive. Managers want information they can use to improve policies and procedures, department structure and corporate culture. Offer feedback and suggestions that can lead to change. * Be candid but accurate. It's often difficult for supervisors to get honest feedback from current employees so your candor is appreciated. Be as truthful as you can but be mindful that what you say could have an impact on other people's careers.

Regards

srini

The method we have found most useful is to give the employee the form to fill in first and then to sit with him/ her to understand and get examples of why they has said what they have. The feedback is shared with the Department head after the employee leaves To cross check the responses, the interview should be conducted by the Head of theDept of the leaving employee and also by HR separately Analysis is done taking the trend of responses and classifying it based on grade, dept etc. A consistent feedback on any one factor would need to be highlighted and a Plan of Action to address the issue is drawn up Hope these tips are useful.

Girdhar