Turnover is not only challenging, it’s actually very costly! On average, turnover costs about 20% of the Annual Salary for each person who leaves their role. That means, for a team member making $50,000 annually, the average turnover cost is $10,000 to replace that person.
One thing that can help many organizations is to take advantage of Exit Interviews. Taking an hour or two before the person leaves to get a true picture as to why they are leaving can help organizations understand what they can do different, if anything, to keep top talent. If done correctly, employees will share why they’re leaving, and give insight as to how the company can improve in unique ways that may help retain other employees.
According to SHRM’s article, “HR Magazine: Making Exit Interviews Work”, “The interviewer needn’t necessarily be an HR professional. A neutral manager or mentor the employee trusts and who has good interviewing skills could be the right choice.”
To gather the most information, plan for thoughtful and open ended questions. Below are 20 suggestions of key questions to include in your exit interviews:
They key is to truly listen to the answers, but knowing the information isn’t enough, once the information is gathered, it’s important to apply the answers in a delivery system to share with key stakeholders in the company to make valuable changes to the organization to keep the turnover low.
It’s difficult to ask the questions, and even more difficult to truly listen to the answers, but if done right organizations can Master the Art of the Exit Interview and gain solid information that will help them be the employer of choice in the future!
Are you interested in learning more? Check out these resources for more details: