ILLUSTRATIONS: VICTORIA PARK NOVEMBER 2016 BCBUSINESS 19
LET'S BE HONEST
Klein finds that employees generally
appreciate the opportunity to give
feedback: "They will likely do it in
a diplomatic manner, but you
could argue that that is just being
professional." Says Pau: "When there's
an intermediary or middle person,
they're sometimes more open. We
will often ask, 'Can we relay this back
to the company or would you be more
comfortable if we aggregate it with
other data?' Most of the time, they're
very comfortable because it's different
coming from us than from them."
FOLLOW THROUGH
An exit interview gives you good
insights into improvement oppor-
tunities within your organization,
says Klein. "This can't just be a
check in the box compliance piece.
We're investing the time and effort
because we genuinely want to know
the feedback." Consider doing a
"stay interview" or an employee
satisfaction survey with remaining
staff to determine whether feed-
back from exit interviews reflects
the views of the people who are still
there, says Pau.
ASK THE RIGHT WAY
Ask open-ended questions rather than ones
that elicit yes or no answers, says Pau. Use
the same questions for all exit interviews
to ensure consistency. "You can ask the
same question of 20 people, and they'll all
give you a slightly different answer, but I
think that there's value in that," says Klein.
"Whereas if you're doing closed questions
and it's a yes/no, it's really hard to do any-
thing with that."
LOOK FOR TRENDS
Gathering feedback from exit
interviews is a great way to identify
trends, patterns and themes from
departing employees, says Pau.
"Employees often have great ideas
about things we could do differ-
ently, which we love to hear, but
sometimes there is just a genuine
shift in employee preference," says
Klein. "It's not been a significant
issue, but it's something that's
bubbling, and if it's not addressed it
could become one."
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SAY THANK YOU
"Thank the employee for their
honesty and feedback, and
commit to using the informa-
tion provided to improve your
workplace," says Pau. "Wish
your employee success in his
or her new endeavour." Says
Klein: "I always thank them
for their honesty, because no
matter how professional and
diplomatic you are, it takes
courage. We always thank
them for that because it's what
makes us better."
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Done right, an exit interview can make your business better. Joanne
Klein, Goldcorp vice-president, people, and Clear HR principal consultant
Cissy Pau tell us how to elicit constructive feedback from departing
employees
by Felicity Stone
And Now, Some Parting Words
D-I-Y MANAGEMENT
