This presentation offers key academic research from the April 2016 issue of Harvard Business Review magazine article, Making Exit Interviews Count. It provides crucial insights from research participants and industry thought leaders, including six overall goals that companies should focus on when shaping their exit interview programs. The research information was compiled and presented by Rudy Trebels, President and CEO of Wedgewood Investment Group.

1. Exit Interviews: 6 Goals
Presentation by Rudy Trebels

2. In the most recent (April 2016) issue of
Harvard Business Review (HBR) magazine,
Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg discuss
the strategy of exit interviews and the real
value they bring within an organization.
HBR author, Everett Spain HBR author, Boris Groysberg
April 2016 HBR magazine

3. Idea in Brief
For example, in the article Making Exit
Interviews Count, the authors say, "In
today's knowledge economy, skilled
employees are any company's most valuable
asset. Thus it's important to understand why
they leave, and how the organization may
need to change."
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

4. – Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg in Making Exit
Interviews Count, HBR magazine April 2016 issue
“Exit interviews, when conducted
with care, can provide insight
into what employees are thinking,
reveals problems in the
organization, and sheds light on
the competitive landscape.”
TheOpportunity:

5. “Too often, exit interview programs
fail to achieve their potential for
two reasons: First, the data they
produce can be spotty and
untrustworthy. And second, little
consensus on best practices exist.”
TheChallenge:
– Everett Spain and Boris Groysberg in Making Exit
Interviews Count, HBR magazine April 2016 issue

6. This presentation offers key academic
research from the April 2016 issue of
HBR magazine article, Making Exit
Interviews Count. It provides crucial
insights from research participants
and industry thought leaders.

7. Here are 6 goals every company
should focus on when shaping
Exit Interview programs:

8. 1. Uncover issues relating to HR
People need a certain level of
financial compensation to
remain with an organization, but
unless their salary is out of
alignment with their peers’,
money doesn’t usually drive
them out the door.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

9. However, plenty of other HR practices can play into an
employee’s decision to leave.
One leader from a food and beverage company told the
authors that exit interviews inform his company’s
succession planning and talent management process.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

10. 2. Understand employees’
perceptions of the work itself,
including job design, working
conditions, culture, and peers.
This can help managers
improve employee motivation,
efficiency, coordination, and
effectiveness.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

11. 3. Gain insight into managers’
leadership styles and effectiveness
This equips the organization to
reinforce positive managers and
identify toxic ones.
One executive at a major
restaurant chain told the
authors that several exit
interviews she’d recently
conducted revealed that
micromanagement was a big
problem.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

12. 4. Learn about HR benchmarks
(salary, benefits) at competing
organizations
One HR executive at a global
food and beverage company
told the authors, “We use exit
interviews to see how
competitive we are against
other employers: time off, ability
to advance, different benefits,
and pay packages.”
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

13. 5. Foster innovation by soliciting
ideas for improving the organization
Exit interviews should go
beyond the individual’s
immediate experience to cover
broader areas, such as company
strategy, marketing, operations,
systems, competition, and the
structure of his or her division.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

14. One emerging best practice is to ask every departing
employee something along the lines of “Please complete
the sentence ‘I don’t know why the company doesn’t
just _____.’”
This approach may reveal trends.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

15. 6. Create lifelong advocates
for the organization
By treating departing employees
with respect and gratitude.
That may encourage them to
recommend their former
companies to potential
employees, to use and
recommend the companies’
products and services, and to
create business alliances
between their former and new
employers.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

16. One North American financial services executive said,
“You want [a departing employee] to leave as
an ambassador and customer.”
https://hbr.org/2016/04/making-exit-interviews-count

17. If you liked this
piece, please
visit:
RudyTrebels.us
Rudy Trebels is the President and CEO of Wedgewood
Investment Group. With over 35 years of experience
within the financial services industry, Rudy is known
as a successful business leader and innovator within
the industry. Wedgewood Investment Group, LLC,
which offers investment banking services, focuses on
assisting middle market business grow, financing their
existing assets or construction of new assets. Rudy
Trebels and the team at Wedgewood have worked with
numerous investors and lenders across the country.