When excellent employees leave it is not only a loss in terms of time, effort and all the cost associated with finding a apposite replacement but it is also the loss of losing unique information and encounter particularly associated to the organization; Losing excellent employees is a problem where prevention is most certainly the best cure.

It is a fact of life that employees will leave from time to time but it is useful for an employer to be with you the reasons for an worker to leave so that they can be sure that personnel are leaving for reasons that are right and not reasons that are incorrect and avoidable.

Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well calculated job satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. But, some problems, especially those that involve personalities, are not always brought to the go up until it is too late.

A lack of career development and/or poor management are two common reasons for worker dissatisfaction that can often result in personnel deciding to change jobs. Both of these problems can be hard to spot even for organizations that adopt regular 360-degree appraisals (i.e. where as part of the by and large review employees are requested to appraise their line managers).

Some employees while still employed may be reluctant to criticize their line managers for dread of reprisal; but they can be more candid when completing an worker exit survey.

Even if adopting exit surveys many not preclude those from leaving it will help bring to the go up problems that could, if left unchecked, result in poor staff moral for the remaining staff and worse case scenario, a flood of resignations.

Limited Career Development

Not all employees desire, nor can employers always grant their employees with a clear and long term career path. Some people find comfort and job security in doing one job but there are just as many who prefer to be continually challenged, always acquiring new skills and steadily moving up the corporate ladder. A successful organization will maintain the weigh of having high flyers and more modest and humble employees.

Where losses due to a lack of career development are rare they may also be inevitable, but where they are normal, then changes to the governmental organize might need to be considered to allow for stuck-up career development of the employees.

Poor Management

Many managers achieved their position owing to promotion, but it does not always follow that a excellent worker will involuntarily make a excellent administrator and often people are assigned management position without any formal management training.

Poor managers can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, ‘I was thinking of being paid rid of them anyway’ and ‘they were a waste of space’ are typical responses to being questioned if there is a problem causing people to leave an organization.

It is understandable that senior management would want to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt and a poor worker may not be averse to dishonorably criticising their line administrator. But by conducting exit surveys, if a man-management problem were to be identified early there is a excellent chance that it can be addressed and resolved with the apt formal training and guidance.

Records

It is not uncommon for people to leave an employer and at a later date place in a claim for constructive dismissal. With legal submission now adopting the ‘No win no fee’ model even excellent employers are finding this to be a real problem. At best Exit surveys will grant an organization with a valuable record of the worker’s reasons for leaving, and at worse, grant advanced notification that a possible claim for unfair dismissal might be probable.

A panel may not readily accept the word of an employer that when the worker left they did so without indicating any grievance.

When to conduct an exit survey

With the worker’s covenant Exit surveys can be delayed for a few months or be conducted as part of the termination administer.

There can be an advantage in delaying an exit survey for a few months in that a former worker may be less emotional and more honest with their views and may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.

Conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure has the advantage that even if the leaving worker may be emotional their views may be more reflective of their right state of mind and consequently closer to the real reasons they have resolute to leave. If delayed any comparison between the ex-worker’s ancient and new roles may be the result of them putting on a courageous face, and if the reasons that are given require action, the delay may have prevented the problem from being resolved.

Summary

By including exit surveys as part of the worker termination procedures organizations will generally benefit in a number of different ways. Having excellent records could prove to be very valuable later and they will also grant management with in rank that can help them improve an organization’s moral as well as the bottom line.

See the following survey for sample exit interview questions.