Employees who are leaving a business are much more likely to be honest when they answer questions than those who will continue to be employed there. This creates one of the most significant advantages of doing exit interviews. The increased openness of your departing employees can lead you to some highly useful insights into the day-to-day operations of your business that you might otherwise have missed out on learning about, as your remaining employees will typically be less inclined to be completely candid about their thoughts and feelings. Thanks to these open conversations with your departing employees, areas in which your business operations could be improved will likely come to light. It’s important to pay close attention in these instances, as even a simple comment from a member of your staff can quickly turn into an actionable item that can bring lasting, positive change to your business practices. This is especially true if you operate a larger business, where you and your other managers could be distanced from, for instance, those who work on the sales floor or in warehouse facilities, causing a disconnect in communication that could be preventing improved practices from being implemented. Even if an exit interview is the last interaction you believe you’ll ever have with a member of your staff, it’s a good idea to end things on a positive note. You never know what the future might bring, and these departing members of your staff could move on professionally in other organizations to the point that even a small past connection with them could be beneficial to you both going forward. This makes exit interviews an easy and effective way to keep a measure of goodwill intact between you and your past staff members.
