HR Professional - April/May 2008 - (Page 37)

H R 101 BY DUFF MCCUTCHEON EFFECTIVE EXIT INTERVIEWING good exit interview is an excellent window into your workforce, how you live up to your employer brand, who is attracting your employees and what you’re doing right can all be gauged with a face-to-face chat with an exiting employee. HR Professional talks to two human resources veterans—Molson HR manager Chris Kirkpatrick and Redwood Custom Communications vicepresident HR Theresa O’Connell—about getting the most out of the exit interview. A 1. receptionist would not be appropriate for a vice-president, and vice versa,” says O’Connell. One of the benefits of using a template is its use as a tool for getting an interview back on track. “Obviously, exit interviews can get emotional and it’s easy to get sidetracked,” says O’Connell. “A template helps you guide the conversation back.” 3. Start with a pre-interview questionnaire To get interviewees thinking about the exit interview, O’Connell has people ﬁll out a questionnaire ahead of time. It features questions like: What ﬁrst attracted you to the organization? What are the most positive aspects of work here? How have things changed? What would have changed your mind about leaving? “That breaks the ice and we go from there,” she says. “It’s been effective for us because it really helps get the dialogue going. We start by going over their responses and dive into the interview from there.” Use a template Molson recently revamped its interview template with a new focus on order and ﬂow, says Kirkpatrick. “The new template allows us to get to the poignant facts quickly, and allows the individual to provide us with solid feedback and points that really speak to their experience with the organization.” Redwood also uses a core set of exit interview questions, although it’s tailored to the individual and their job title. “Some questions for a w w w. HRT houghtLeader. c om Meet face-to-face and listen If you do all the talking, you’re not going to get anything out of the interview. A lot of HR professionals tend to do a lot of the talking to mask an uncomfortable situation. Don’t do exit interviews by simply giving the interviewee a form to fill out on their way out the door—it’s impersonal and will likely give the impression that you don’t really care what they have to say. 2. A p r i l / M a y 2 0 0 8 37 IL L US T R AT ION: MIC H A E L E DDE NDE N http://www.HRThoughtLeader.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - April/May 2008

HR Professional - April/May 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters By the Numbers On the Web Careers World Watch Accounting Health & Safety Foreign Professionals Management Office Life Legal Compensation Web 2.0 @ Work Talent Management Systems On Message Strategy HR 101 Interview With Colin Mackay Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - April/May 2008

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