Exit Interviews: The REAL Reason Your People Are Leaving!

By Kym Krey

At some point, pretty much everyone in your business will leave. There’s no escaping that. Recent data (NAB Behavioural Insight Report) showed that 1 in 4 Australians are thinking about leaving their current job- yep, potentially 25% of your workforce- which is a little scary if you’re a business owner!

When someone decides to leave your workplace, there are 3 things you can do:

• Send them off with a bunch of flowers but leave it at that.

• Get bitter and twisted, making them another one of ‘those staff’ (not recommended)

• Use the opportunity to gain vital information about their experience working with you and ultimately, what caused them to leave. (win!)

What we’re talking about is an exit interview.

What’s it really like to be your employee?

It’s very likely that you’ll have a different perception of what it’s like to work for you than your employees would say from their actual experience. It’s only human that we amplify the good bits, downplay the stressful parts and generally think we’re doing a wonderful job of creating a great place to work!

Also keep in mind that no matter how much you say, “I’m always open to feedback”, current team members don’t always feel comfortable sharing their true feelings in case they injure the relationship or put their job at risk.

You think everything is fabulous…. and then comes the bombshell resignation.

Ideally, of course, you’ll have systems in place to minimise this risk like religiously making time to talk one-on-one to each of your team members briefly each week and in more detail every month, creating opportunities to ‘check in’ and hear what’s great, where they need help and what’s causing them stress.

An anonymous team/culture survey (yes…. genuinely anonymous. It doesn’t matter who said it.. it matters that you now know) a couple of times per year to check their perspective on all the important areas is another excellent opportunity to become aware of potential issues or blind spots before they result in staff loss.

*You can grab my Team Culture Measuring Stick FREE DOWNLOAD on my website for exactly this purpose*

But your last line of defence when someone does choose to go is an exit interview, which is a golden opportunity to get up close and personal with the inner workings of your business – the good, the bad and the ugly.

When it’s done well, an exit interview can reveal a lot, giving you real insight into what it’s really like to work for you… not just what your recruitment ad says.

It can provide a crucial understanding about why people felt they needed to leave, and more importantly, what may have kept them happily employed longer term. I know you’ll likely hear “It’s not you… it’s me. I just need a change” in that ‘I need to talk to you’ conversation but is that really the whole truth? When you’re absolutely on fire, completely engaged with a role you love and excited about your future, ‘change’ doesn’t seem as appealing now, does it?

So what makes a great exit interview?

A really good exit interview is not just a series of questions or a tick-and-flick exercise. There’s definitely a skill to it.

It’s not just a chance to remind them of their contractual obligations, instruct them on handing over client details or try to woo them back with bonuses. An exit interview is a chance for your employee to reflect on their time working with you, consider when they felt most excited and supported and when they may have felt frustrated, unfairly treated, bored or unappreciated, but to generally share their experiences to help you understand what it’s like to be them, to help you create a better working environment for the remaining and future team.

This is not a time to defend yourself even if you disagree with what is being said. These experiences are very real for them and have contributed to their decision. Whether or not you think it’s true, it’s true for them. Their perception is their reality and it may just be another team member’s perception too, so wouldn’t it be better for you to hear this now?

Be calm and curious enough to approach this conversation with a ‘help me understand’ mindset and the gratitude to say, ‘Thank you for sharing this with me’.

Making the time for an effective exit interview will help you:

• identify the real reasons staff are leaving

• notice ‘trends’ or common feedback from several staff

• offer a positive ‘exit experience’ (they’re more likely to speak positively to other potential staff)

• highlight where your culture or coaching practices need attention

• identify problems or pain points

• improve employee retention

And considering that the total cost to the business of advertising, recruiting, training and loss of income being short-staffed is skyrocketing, these points are important for any business!

How to do an exit interview:

1. Who: Ideally, get someone you trust but who didn’t work with the departing employee to run your exit interview. It’s not ideal to do this yourself or for it to be done by their direct manager, given that people mostly leave managers, not companies. Using your business coach or a trusted friend who is experienced in this area can help remove the emotion and ensure your departing employees feel safe to share honest feedback.

2. Where: Get away from the salon and find a private space to have this conversation. Not in your back room, not in the coffee shop next door where all the staff know you. Meeting them off-site is a far better idea. I’ve seen business owners meet their employee for a gentle walk through a park or sit on a quiet park bench to have the chat. Don’t make them come back into the business after they’ve moved on.

3. When: If you’re doing your exit interview while they’re still employed, try to do this in their last couple of days and if you’re doing it after they’ve left, aim for no longer than 1-2 weeks maximum.

4. How: Always have this conversation face-to-face, or if that’s not possible via video call. Don’t send them an impersonal email or hand them a survey or, as well as making their last experience a negative one, there’s little chance you’ll get the honest information you need.

What to cover:

Here are some topics or questions you might like to include:

• “Looking back, what attracted you to this salon?”

• “What were some of your most positive experiences?”

• ”Tell me about your initial induction/ onboarding experience. What was it like in your first few days?”

• “When did you feel most proud of yourself?/ What was your proudest achievement?”

• “What were some of your more difficult experiences? What prompted these?”

• “How did you initially see your future with us?”

• “What would you have liked to be different about your time with us?”

• “What has prompted your decision to leave?”

• “Is there anything else you think we should know from your perspective as a member of the team?”

Building trust.

Without trust and safety, you’ll get generic, safe feedback - and that’s a waste of everyone’s time.

• Set expectations: Let your team member know in advance why you’re doing the exit interview, who’ll be doing it, and the kinds of questions you’ll cover. This is not the time for surprises. ‘’It’s important to us to build an environment that is positive, fun, challenging and rewarding but we don’t always get that right. Your insights into what you enjoyed, what you didn’t and what would have made it a more positive experience will be invaluable”.

• Address their fears: Let them know what will happen with the information they share, i.e., who’ll be seeing it, if it will be recorded on file etc. Even if someone external does the interview, if they think it will go straight back to their manager, they’ll often be less willing to share, especially if they need a reference for a future position! ‘This is how they felt’ rather than ‘She’s angry that Sally did X’ is appropriate.

• Say Thank You: A great way to start the conversation is by taking a moment to say thank you for the contribution that they made to the business and to the team and to let them know that their efforts made a difference.

• Build rapport: Talking about something unrelated to work initially such as the kids, their hobby or sport etc can put them at ease and keep relaxed. When you’re comfortable, you can begin with something like “I really appreciate you taking time to have this chat with me today. The purpose of our conversation is to help me understand your experiences with us, so I’m happy to hear whatever you have to say. Initially, what I’d like to understand is ….”

What you’ll likely learn in an exit interview:

• Rewards that you thought were fabulous just weren’t as exciting to them:

Learning: Not everyone likes to be rewarded in the same way. Understand what works for each employee.

• They wanted more of your time/ You were always too busy for them.

Learning: You’ll always have a gazillion things to do but there are few priorities more important in a service business than your team. Make time for them. Prioritise them if you want them to stay and grow, otherwise.. when they’re bored, they’re gone!

• They got sick of working with toxic/ indulged staff

Learning: That person who causes so much stress but you’ve been telling yourself you can’t afford to lose or there’s nothing you can do… just cost you a team member. Your team are over it and they’re watching to see what you do. If you don’t deal with it, this is how they’ll deal with it.

• They needed flexibility:

Learning: Today’s workforce prioritise lifestyle and family probably more than their predecessors, so you can expect this to factor into their working hours wishlist. If they’re productive, profitable, and a valued member of your team, be flexible where you can. Show them how to earn well so they’re productive when they are there, and so they can also enjoy their family and lifestyle too. (Be honest… you would have loved that roster too, right?)

• It wasn’t ‘just’ a job to them:

Learning: They didn’t want to come to work and ‘do clients’ week after week. They wanted to come to you to learn, to see progression and feel excited about their development. They wanted opportunities to grow, but you wanted them to just ‘do their job’. They wanted leadership.

If you’re brave enough to commit to these and you’re emotionally strong enough to remain calm and curious, exit interviews can be a game-changer in helping you create the kind of workplace culture where great staff really want to hang out and invest their precious time.

Every day, each one of your staff have the opportunity to walk out your door and find another job- and they know that there are more than enough jobs out there to find.

So, every day, they must come to work and choose you- and they must keep choosing you day after day after day, not because they need the job, not because you pay them more than anyone else, but because they feel connected to what you’re doing, they feel valued and important, they have opportunities to grow how they want to grow and there’s nowhere else they’d rather be.

Until you achieve that, great exit interviews will help guide your way.

*Remember to grab my Team Culture Measuring Stick FREE DOWNLOAD from www.kymkrey.com.au

Kym Krey is a veteran, highly trusted salon industry business coach and leadership mentor. She’s the expert you’ll want in your corner when you’re ready to turn your business around or take that next big leap. Get in touch @kymkrey or www.kymkrey.com.au