How to utilise exit interview data

An employee leaving your business may be able to help you gain insight into why they decided to move on, what may have gone wrong, and how you may be able to improve retention and company culture.

By listening to an employee who has decided to leave, you may learn how your business could continuously improve employee morale, make productivity gains, and develop a better work environment.

An exit interview with the departing employee can also show them you value the contribution they made during their employment and that you are interested in any ideas or feedback they have to offer.

A structured exit interview can be a vital step in this process and help you make improvements to help your business attract and retain top talent.

But what do you do with the information you learn from an exit interview?

Here are three key steps you could take after you’ve interviewed a departing employee.

1. Act on reasons for departure and monitor progress

Following the interview, spend some time evaluating the information you’ve gathered to identify the cause of the employee’s departure, and how they could be addressed.

If the departing employee suggested their training was inadequate, or they were not given enough opportunity to collaborate and contribute to projects they were interested in, note that these are potential areas of improvement for the business.

Such insights can be a starting point to discuss ways to improve the business and the employee experience with managers and senior management. Your company may then make changes and monitor the impact of them.

2. Create a targeted employee retention program

For any employee retention program, the first step may be to consider accurately measuring and understanding your employee turnover rate.

The average employee turnover rate in Australia and New Zealand decreased from 17% in 2019 to 15% in 2020.¹ The decrease was consistent across most industries, although turnover increased in the sectors of public administration and safety, financial and insurance services, and education and training.

For new employees, the average turnover rate in Australia was 7%, which was the same as in 2019.

Once you understand your employee turnover rate, you can identify areas you may need to address.

An employee retention program may include reviews to ensure you are rewarding the right employees, which can help build loyalty.

It can include addressing the working environment of your business to ensure it considers employees’ needs, such as flexible work schedules and work-life balance.

Other components of an employee retention program include employee relationships with managers, personal development, and recognition.

3. Share information with executives

After an exit interview with a departing employee or employees, it is important that the data you collect reaches key decision-makers in your organisation, so that any changes can be implemented as effectively as possible.

It is essential to carefully evaluate the data before presenting information and suggestions to decision-makers to ensure any changes may be able to be measured.

How QSuper can help

Being an employer of choice means supporting employees when they join your business or workplace, and when they make the decision to move on.

QSuper’s changing jobs resource can easily be included in your exit process. It can be provided to a departing employee either in hard copy or digital format, which can be attached to an email.

To request printed copies, give our Employer Support team a call on 1300 367 845.

1. Elmo Software and Australian Human Resources Institute, 2021, HR Industry Benchmark Survey 2020: Your 2021 Report, Australia and New Zealand, at elmosoftware.com.au

The opinions expressed and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the QSuper Board. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of any of the information supplied and you should seek advice for your circumstances.