I’ve been talking about separating from companies recently. It’s part of the employee experience so it deserves attention. I’ve commented on how exit interviews are generally a waste of time and devoid of value for any of the parties involved. What can the org do that’s better? Here are some steps.
1:1s need to be commonplace and they require training and support to be effective. I’ve spoken at length elsewhere on the fundamentals of making this happen. Heck, here’s me doing so in VR.
Let’s start from “1:1s are a requirement for all managers at our company and they occur regularly and frequently for all team members.” To leverage that to replace the value you hoped to gain from exit interviews, do the following.
Think about the common topics you’d hope to hear about when someone voluntarily separates from the company. Compensation? Benefits? Growth opportunities? Crummy leaders? Difficult team members? Values misalignment with the work? Burnout conditions? You can easily generate a top 10 list. Now share that with all managers who perform 1:1s. These leaders should be working to build rapport with their team members. That’s why 1:1s exist. Once there’s a level of trust established…to the point that team members are willing to be open and honest about even uncomfortable topics…you can start asking the occasional question from your top 10 list.
You’ll be getting more sincere answers. You’ll be getting them before someone leaves so you still have a chance to do something about it. The team member feels heard more than they would as they’re headed for the door. This scenario is vastly superior to wasting everyone’s time with Exit Interview Theater.
But it doesn’t stop there. Expect some accountability. True, just because Biff mentions in a 1:1 he wants a promotion doesn’t mean he’s going to get one immediately. But if he opens up to the point that he shares that with his manager, and Biff doesn’t see any progress and his manager never brings it up again…you’ve just created a new reason why Biff would want to leave. “When I raise issues here, they never get addressed” is the next thing you’ll hear in an exit interview.
image courtesy of Boudewijn Huysmans via unsplash