In any company, zero percent turnover is impossible. When an employee does decide to leave your company, it doesn’t have to be a bad experience. By conducting an exit interview, you have a great opportunity to benefit from their departure.
According to Chez Misko, the COO of Wisconsin Athletic Club (WAC), exit interviews don’t necessarily have to be formal. For example, WAC has a tight-knit culture, and as a result, rarely does exit interviews on a truly formal basis.
“A lot of the times with exit interviews, when it’s really a positive mutual parting, you’re already getting that feedback from your staff,” said Misko. “The only times you get stuff that’s helpful is when it’s a little more disgruntled, because you get a better understanding of why that situation occurred. If someone’s moving, there’s not a lot you can learn.”
However, if you do find yourself needing to conduct a formal exit interview, Misko suggested asking for both constructive and positive feedback, asking questions such as, “How would you rate your time here,” “What could we improve upon,” and “What did you enjoy while working here?”
According to Misko, the art of the exit interview begins not when your employee leaves, but when he or she starts. “It’s kind of like members: Once they quit it’s already too late. There’s not much you can do,” he said. “If your culture is not one that cares about its employees, doing an exit interview at the end is just checking off a box. It really doesn’t impact or change your culture. If your culture is one of caring, you’re already getting feedback.”
So, how can you too create a culture of caring, so that you’re always in touch with your employees? At WAC, a positive culture is reinforced by what it calls the “Four Ps of Coaching.” As a result of these Ps, WAC staff are, in a sense, continuously performing an exit interview that keeps them in the loop on an employee’s struggles and triumphs.
“I always equate it to a performance review,” said Misko. “There shouldn’t be any information in a performance review where that’s the first time you’re hearing it. If so, then you’re not doing your job as a manager. From an HR standpoint, people would say you have to do an exit interview because that’s good practice, but it’s only really important when you’re coming in and trying to change the culture and find out where the problems are.”
At WAC, a formal interview is more often replaced with a party. “From our standpoint, we’d almost rather have a party than an exit interview, to celebrate people who are relocating or doing something different,” said Misko. “It’s important to make them feel valued, and that sends a good message to the other staff.”
WAC’s 4 Ps of Coaching, according to Chez Misko:
P: Picking the right people that fit with WAC’s culture.
“If you pick the wrong people, then from the get go, they won’t fit in our organization.”
P: Painting a picture and creating a path.
“We do this so the employee understands where they fit in the organization. We really try to paint a picture for them, why they’re coming here and why what they’re doing is so important.”
P: Praise and positive recognition.
“If we’re not catching them doing something right, it’s really hard to make a positive change. A lot of companies have a way of catching people doing something wrong, and they never build their employees up or build a relationship to make a successful coaching experience.”
P: Personal relationships.
“You have to have a personal relationship with your staff. You really can’t coach them, you can’t motive them if you don’t.”
