What is an Exit Interview?
In short, an exit interview is an inquiry or survey conducted with an employee leaving the employer.
Information obtained from the employee is typically used as feedback on reasons employees leave, voluntarily or otherwise.
Employees are asked, generally, to state what they liked and what areas of the company need improvement.
The idea is that this data is compiled and tracked over time.
Exit interviews are usually conducted in person, by telephone, in writing, or via the Internet.
An exit interview does not convert an at-will employment relationship into a just-cause relationship. See Ford v Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 150 Mich App 462, 389 NW2d 114 (1986).
Therefore one of the most effective tools for ensuring a clean, no-fault severance of the employment relationship is the voluntary exit interview.
How to Conduct an Exit Interview?
The employer should assign a knowledgeable and diplomatic management representative to conduct the exit interview.
The exit interview should be an open and frank exploration of the reasons for the severance of the employment relationship.
Give the employee ample opportunity to express in detail, orally or in writing, the employee’s feelings about the supervisor, the quality and quantity of supervision, the handling of complaints about supervisors, the likes and dislikes about the job and the employer, and suggestions for improving the job and the workplace.
In part, for these reasons, the interviewer should not be the employee’s immediate supervisor or a managerial employee who was involved in any failed reconciliation efforts.
The employer should accurately document the exit interview in writing.
See Exit Interview Checklist for a sample exit interview checklist.