The important criteria for business success depend on the employees in the organization. It is also believed that your company’s growth depends on how you treat your employees. It is worthwhile to note the other side of the business. No matter how gracefully you treat your employees and offer many employee benefits to existing employees, there is always a better option they could find. This loop is never-ending. In this never-ending loop where your employees can always find a better option, you will have to face employee turnover regularly as an organization. 

Employees quitting the organization may not be expected. But, as a business, it is imperative to be prepared and give more importance to a seamless exit process for employees. And most importantly, understand how to make exit interviews work in your favor to reduce employee turnover and streamline the process.

Before understanding how to reduce employee turnover in a company, let us understand what an exit interview is. 

Exit Interview: 

An exit interview is a formal interview between the employee and management when the employee decides to leave the organization. Resignation could be a phase where the employee chooses to resign voluntarily from the organization. This could be communicated orally or in written form through email. It is estimated that 70% of those employees left because they felt unvalued, while only 30% participated in exit interviews with their employers.

Exit interviews can be awkward or uncomfortable for small companies and start-ups. The exit process can be done smoothly with a proper setup system, with tools like a knowledge base or an employee handbook. Here are some ways exit interviews can reduce employee turnover:

exit interviews
Image by Freepik

1. Understand the employees

Understanding employee preferences might be a difficult task. Exit interviews can be a terrific opportunity to understand what was missing from your organization and why they are ready to move on to another organization. This also helps your business find out what things you need to improve in your business. Maintaining all this information regarding the exit process in an employee handbook or a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).  

2. Helpful reviews to implement 

Taking immediate action is impossible once management conducts exit interviews and understands the employees. There must be meaningful reviews inside the organization at all times. Management can discuss what could be changed within the organization to benefit existing employees, but it is impossible to implement it immediately. Creating a proper timeline regarding the changes that can be done would also reduce employee turnover in the future. 

It would be prudent to consider the other side of exit calls as a business. As the number of exit interviews increases, the number of reviews will also increase. It is key to prioritize what should be done first and act accordingly. This helps the overall well-being of employees and, in turn, reduces employee turnover.

3. Identify trends 

Conducting exit interviews can help identify patterns and trends within your organization. It is imperative to note that feedback from a single departing employee should not be considered conclusive. Rather, it is necessary to observe if multiple employees leaving the organization have provided similar feedback before concluding. This means that there is a trend of the same problem being on for a long time. This would help you as a company take immediate action and resolve whatever you feel is wrong. This will, in turn, reduce employee turnover as the company becomes super friendly to its employees. 

The identified trends can also be mentioned in the employee handbook so that both existing and new employees know the dos and don’ts in the organization. 

4. Alternate excellent options 

Exit interviews can help you find better employees and pave the way for new employees who deserve the role better. Such instances are possible when existing employees do not feel aligned with their tasks. They decide to move to another role that makes them feel aligned with the work. In such a situation, companies can use this phase to understand the newly hired employees in the initial stage of hiring. This is so they do not fear losing talented employees again. This will again help reduce employee turnover. 

5. Asking the right questions 

This is one of the key areas management must focus on when conducting employee exit interviews. Most companies perform exit interviews just to do them. It would be a notable change when exit interviews are taken with the right questions and planned well. When the right questions are asked of employees, you will instantly know what changes you need to make in your organization. 

These questions can be stored as an SOP which eases the exit interview. This is indeed a time-saving activity.

Wake-up call! 

There is no way these tips can help your current employees stay with your company. But, when exit interviews are done right, it saves huge employee turnover. No employee would be willing to leave the organization when they are treated to what they want apart from monetary benefits. It is key to focus on employee wellness to help employees stay in the organization. 

You will only be able to improve your business if you hire the right employees. So, you need to take care of your employees as a business. If you want to focus on an ever-growing business, finding the right fit for your company is critical. To help them remain in the organization, it’s also imperative to address their needs.

Final words 

Exit interviews can function as a magic wand, and you can make the highest use of them if used the right way. It helps your company create a culture that makes employees love the organization. As per research, for 46% of employees, the culture of their company is important; they want to feel valued and appreciated at work.With the insights from exit interviews, as an organization, it could be beneficial to discuss and implement necessary changes to avoid certain things in the future. This is how exit interviews can help companies reduce employee turnover. In short, exit interviews can make or break an organization. 

With all the tips above, we hope you implement some in your organization. We also hope you conduct the exit interview in the right way to get the maximum benefits out of it.Â