SCHOLAR'S FORUM

TWOSOME TIME-The Exit Interview

Imagine slipping into anonymity, walking on dewdrop sprinkled grass, sitting under a starlit sky, watching the dawn, or just walking hand in hand with the company you were just married to. These are the magic moments usually an employee experiences when the not so awaited era of his life comes to the forefront- the departing time. Almost every business group today boasts of providing a conducive ecosystem to its employees for its day-to-day operations to be accomplished effectively and efficiently.

Use of unparalleled words akin to career planning, morale, motivation, employee health and safety, executive development, organizational development and so forth are universal to almost any trade you gaze into.

The million-dollar question, which comes to life instantly, is if all organizations deliver the best practices, then why at all does an employee leave the organization he/she was happily married to? Lest you desire to obtain an unambiguous depiction of what is happening behind the panorama, you would be required to hit the target accurately. To be precise you need to inspect like a detective and excavate deep into the sentiments attached in general and the passion associated in particular, to the employee, which made him/her to depart the extensive affiliation.

The exit interview grants us with an appreciable gizmo to take a hard look at how your company is perceived. Since the employee is leaving, they will often be more open and frank in their discussions about the company. A true and honest overview is supplemented with integrity and if applied considerately would definitely help in defining new benchmarks and in turn would unquestionably revive the attrition pulse of the company. Exit interviews offer a fleeting opportunity to unearth information that otherwise might be more thorny or impossible to obtain, incase you desire to utilize the conventional methods of questionnaires and surveys, with the lot formerly engaged with you.

A good question to break the ice is 'would you like for us to be a reference/recommendation for you'? However also be-aware to not to make this offer if you would not recommend the employee! Try to find out if there were things the departing employee would suggest to improve conditions, production or morale. Be prepared for some bombshells too.

Expect the unexpected if it ever is to happen it will happen in an exit interview. As an employer you need to carefully select the interviewer. Look out for someone who listens well and is open-minded. It serves no purpose for the interviewer to get into an argument with the departing employee. Bear in mind to leave room at the end of the interview for some general annotations.

Employees are assets, also considered to be the heart of the coupled band, sung by both the employer and the employee; it is factual- so do bear in mind you are dealing with that unique organ of your organization which is irrevocable and irreparable, concomitantly even science proves it.

[ Tarun Kapoor is a student of MBA (HR)
at Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Management & Research, New Delhi ]