Why You Need To Be Completely Honest In That Exit Interview

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When you’re changing jobs, there’s more that needs to be done besides giving your two weeks’ notice. Not only do you have to tell your boss and all your fave coworkers that you’re leaving the company, but you also have to go through a little meeting known as an exit interview. Whether your reasons for leaving your job boil down to your overbearing boss or you’re just trading in your cubicle for remote work you can do from your couch, it’s important to be as open and honest as possible with that HR professional. Don’t see the need to spill the details behind your job change? Here’s why it really matters.

You can affect some serious change in the company.

According to the Harvard Business Review, exit interview programs often fail when departing employees are not open and honest. You might think that telling the truth about your experience is too brash, yet studies have shown that HR managers will, in fact, act upon the feedback.

Staffing firm OfficeTeam ran a study in 2016 that found 63 percent of HR managers said their companies act on feedback from exit interviews somewhat or very often. Furthermore, 29 percent said that, as a result of an exit interview, they’d update the open job description, while 24 percent will discuss feedback regarding management. When it comes to corporate culture and benefits, 22 percent said they will act on feedback from exit interviews, with 19 percent of HR managers saying they would review employee salaries as a result of learnings from an exit interview.

“The purpose of an exit interview is to solicit feedback on an employee’s experience, discuss their viewpoint of the company, role, department — whether that be good or bad — and distribute that feedback to the appropriate parties in hopes of capitalizing on the positives and improving upon those points that led to the employees departure,” Christina Mazza, an HR administrator for T&M Associates in New Jersey, told Swirled.

Old coworkers will know what to expect if they ever decide to leave.

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Not all companies offer exit interviews and not all employees have experienced one. If you’re the first to go through the exit interview process at your company, you’ll be able to help your coworkers better understand what to expect, like what questions they’ll be asked.

Dawn Fay, the district president at Robert Half International, shared some common questions that are asked during exit interviews on LinkedIn, including:

• What made you start looking for another job?
• Did you feel you had the tools, resources and working conditions to be successful in your role?
• Do you feel your job description changed since you were hired, and if so, in what ways?
• What can the organization improve on?
• Do you have any concerns about the company you’d like to share?

It could help get someone else hired or promoted.

Whenever you leave a job, it’s always a good idea to have a few suggestions for candidates who could fill your role. This helps make the transition much smoother for the entire company because they may be able to find your replacement that much faster. Plus, it doesn’t have to be a brand new person from outside the company.

In an exit interview at a previous company, I offered up the name of an assistant who I believed deserved to be promoted. She was a rockstar employee and knew the work we were doing inside and out. After being an assistant for more than three years, she was truly the best person to replace me after I left. Not two months later, she received a promotion and I couldn’t be happier for her.

You’ll leave in good standing with HR.

Burst/Matthew Henry

Exit interviews can, of course, be awkward. If it’s a big company, you may meet with someone in HR whom you’ve never even met before. Not only will taking the meeting seriously really help the HR team make improvements, but it’ll also show them how professional you are, which can go a long way. You should always try to stay on good terms with past employers no matter what.

“I believe in maintaining positive relationships with previous employers, so I do not believe this time should be used as a period of venting about only negative experiences,” Mazza said. “An exit interview is more successful for both parties if they give 360-degree feedback.”

One question you may be asked in the exit interview is what would it take for you to consider rejoining the company. Answering this honestly could help you leave with a strong connection should you ever want to return. Maybe your new job ends up not being what you thought it would be, or your old company lands brand new exciting clients that you would love to work with. Either way, being honest in the exit interview could leave that door open for opportunities in the future, should you be interested.

It could help improve company retention.

You might be pretty checked out during the last few days at your company, so you may not be thinking or worrying about the other employees who still work there, but you should.

“This type of feedback is priceless and benefits the company in strategizing for employee retention,” Mazza said.

When one employee leaves, it’s not uncommon for others to follow suit. By helping HR understand what can be changed at the company, from culture to management to benefits, you’re also helping improve the chances of employees staying in their roles after you leave.

Just because you may not have been happy in your job or you found a new opportunity that better suited your career interests doesn’t mean your old coworkers feel the same. They may love their job and the company, so it’s important to help them to thrive there after you leave. In the end, your exit interview could be the company’s entrance into a time of much-needed improvements.

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