Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
attempt to hold to a minimum the loss to the fi rm and the possible pain for the employee. The
loss of any employee can be seen as a learning experience, if the manager takes the time to
conduct an exit interview.
An
exit interview
simply gives the person who is responsible for the HR function
the opportunity to do two things: make sure the employee leaves as a friend (if possible),
and fi nd out what caused the employee to leave, so that any problem areas infl uencing
this decision can be addressed in the future. Retirees should go through the exit interview
as well. Often they can offer valuable information in terms of job function and the
company's HR management practices. Retirees may serve as an unbiased judge of
fi rm strengths and weaknesses. The manager should take every opportunity to collect
and evaluate their comments. Even if the employee has been fi red or has quit in anger, a
well-conducted exit interview that allows the person to express dissatisfaction will often
allow the employee to vent this frustration. A friend or even a neutral party is better than
an enemy.
The following exit interview questions would likely work best with processing line, retail
sales fl oor, production plant, or other lower-level job positions within the fi rm. These ques-
tions would need to be altered to fi t higher-level, management employees. Some possible
questions for the exit interview include:
1.
What did you enjoy most about working for our fi rm? (Starting with open ended ques-
tions puts the person at ease and also gets the person talking.)
2.
What, if anything, did you dislike about working for our fi rm?
3.
If you had a “magic wand,” what are two or three things you would change about our
fi rm, or your experience at our fi rm?
4.
Was the selection process adequate? Did you understand the job, the compensation, and
working conditions?
5.
Were the job description and job specifi cations useful? Were you and the job matched
carefully during placement?
6.
Was orientation to the job adequate? Did you feel at home and a part of the team? Did
you thoroughly understand the fi rm's expectations?
7.
Were wages, benefi ts, and working conditions reasonable, fair and competitive? Were
employee evaluations fair? Was there adequate feedback and reinforcement from the
supervisor?
8.
Were there any personality confl icts with your supervisor or fellow workers? Were
discipline and work rules fair? Was there any favoritism or erratic or unusual disci-
pline?
9.
Were you given a chance to grow and develop? Was training given in a meaningful
way? Were promotion policies understood and fair?
Turnover
is one of the most expensive of all business costs. The cost of fi lling high-level
positions often runs into tens of thousands of dollars (or more, depending on the size of the
fi rm, and the responsibility of the position). There is the direct cost of fi nding, hiring, orient-
ing, and training a new employee. There is also the indirect cost of the job not being per-
formed at its highest level during the “lame duck period” before the old employee leaves.
Finally, there's the downtime, from the time of the vacancy until the new employee develops
the skill level to do the job. Often, there is poor morale among employees if turnover is high.
And, customer service and sales efforts can suffer if high levels of turnover make it diffi cult
to establish and support customer relationships.
