Stay Interviews or Exit Interviews?
Exit Interview or Stay Interview?
Exit interviews typically occur after an employee has made the decision to leave the organisation. At this point, emotions may be heightened, and the employee may not feel comfortable sharing their true feelings. The timing of the interview may also limit the employee’s willingness to provide honest feedback, resulting in biased or incomplete information.
Stay Interviews are a great way to engage with teams and have many benefits. Below are a couple of tips on what to focus on when conducting stay interviews.
Real Time Action
By engaging with employees on a regular basis, managers can identify any potential issues or concerns that maybe impacting job satisfaction. Addressing these concerns, or as a minimum, explaining why you are unable to take action immediately, you are demonstrating your commitment to working with the employee in the real time. You may not be able to address the concerns as the employee would like, but at least you can explain the ‘why’ so they understand.
Enhanced Engagement
The interview, or conversation, provides an opportunity for employees to open up, express their thoughts and feel heard. This will assist in developing trust and connection leading to increased engagement. If you can make a couple of small changes based on the feedback in a timely manner, then this will assist managers in gaining additional valuable insights regularly.
Boost Team Morale
When employees see that their organisation values their input and takes action based on their feedback, it positively impacts team morale. Stay interviews empower employees by giving them a voice and making them feel like valued contributors.
Exit interviews have long been a standard practice in organisations as a means to gather feedback from departing employees. While they offer valuable insights into employee experiences, it is essential to acknowledge the limitations and potential drawbacks associated with exit interviews.
Lack of Actionability
While exit interviews offer a platform for employees to voice their concerns, the effectiveness of these discussions relies heavily on the organisation’s willingness and ability to take action. Often, feedback gathered in exit interviews is not immediately actionable, if at all! Consequently, this feedback may not lead to meaningful changes that can address issues and improve the overall employee experience.
Ineffective for Retention
Exit interviews primarily focus on understanding why an employee is leaving rather than preventing their departure. By the time an exit interview occurs, it is often too late to salvage the employee-employer relationship. Relying solely on exit interviews as a retention strategy overlooks the opportunity to address concerns and nurture engagement before employees reach the point of resignation.
So while Exit Interviews provide a valuable insight into why an employee is leaving, in my opinion, it’s much more important to focus on a positive work environment and addressing concerns before they lead to departures. In reality, I don’t think I’ve ever done an exit interview and was surprised by what information the employee shared. Stay interviews will allow for open and constructive conversations which will enable you to build trust and positive relationships with your teams.
Which will you choose?
