Your farewell party is over. You have bid adieu to your secretary and promised her that you will take her along the moment you settle down in your new job. You have achieved closure on all your projects and bought yourself out of the office chit fund at a considerable loss. It’s time now for the exit interview.

Ravi sees it as a bit of a joke. He plans to get fresh with the HR manager. After all, one of his reasons for leaving was the unconcern shown by the same HR department when he tried to talk to them about his problems.

Nick Corcodilos, author of Ask the Headhunter, says exit interviews are insulting. They ask questions like “Before deciding to leave, did you explore the possibility of a transfer” or “Is there something you didn’t like about your boss?” Says he: “These questions all have one thing in common: they should have been asked six months earlier.”

On the other hand, Rajesh, who is leaving the same company, intends to take the interview very seriously. “Exit interviews give managers a key opportunity to get an accurate read on the pulse of the organisation, providing insights that can be used to stem further turnover,” says Inc. magazine. The article quotes Richard Harding, director of research at Kenexa, a consulting firm in the US: “The main point of an exit interview was to find out why people were leaving. The new thinking is to turn it around and figure out why good people want to stay.”

It seems clear then that an exit interview is a curious beast. Some find it worthless and others very valuable. “It also depends on the environment,” says a Mumbai-based HR manager. “A leading IT company didn’t believe in exit interviews a few years ago. That was the time when the sector was in the doldrums and employees were on the bench (sitting around with no projects). The bosses were only too pleased to see someone go. Today, the same company has a structured exit interview system. Talent is at a premium now. You can’t afford to lose people.”

The value of an exit interview depends almost entirely on the importance the organisation gives to it. Too often has it been used by the HR department as an excuse for its own shortcomings. There is a strong case for outsourcing exit interviews. “This provides an impartial perspective that encourages the respondent to speak openly when discussing sensitive issues,” says Human Systems Development, an HR consultancy organisation.

In India, many companies do go through the formalities of conducting an exit interview. “But Indians don’t like to open up,” says the HR manager quoted earlier. “It’s a small world. And they feel they may hamper their careers if they start complaining about their bosses. There could be a situation where he is once again your boss in some other company.”

Exit interviews will never really catch on in sectors like IT because of the numbers involved. As of 31 March 2006, Infosys had 52,700 employees. Its attrition rate during the year was around 11 per cent. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that around 6,000 people left. That would mean around 20 exit interviews every working day. During the year, the company screened 14 lakh job applications, tested 1,63,620 candidates, conducted 48,700 interviews, and made offers to some 21,650 jobseekers.

It’s better sometimes to concentrate on the future rather than the past.

GOING GRACIOUSLY

What they are likely to ask you at an exit interview

• What factors have led you to decide to leave the company?

• What factors were most important in choosing your new job?

• What are your views on the management? What is the management doing right or wrong?

• Did you feel you were given enough support in your job?

• What did you like most about the company and what did you like the least?

• What are your views on the way we treat our employees? How could we improve effectiveness and morale?

• Is there any way that we could improve the business?

Source: I-resign.com