Exit interviews

Workforce Management has this: Sample Exit Interview

Exit interviews are an excellent practice for legal reasons, as well as more general HR and business purposes.

Employees are never more likely to give candid feedback to a company than when they are walking out the door.

Given the (epidemic) frequency of constructive discharge claims in employment litigation these days, exit interviews are worth their weight in gold, based solely on the (good) possibility that a departing employee will fail to even mention in an exit interview the factors (e.g., harassment) they later claim rendered “working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign” (Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders, 124 S.Ct. at 2354 (2004)). Such an exit interview is the functional equivalent for the defense attorney to a superlative job evaluation on the eve of discharge for a plaintiff’s attorney.

I would revamp this form to ask about their opinion of their work experience, not just the company, and add specific items about the working environment or atmosphere and attitude and conduct of coworkers and supervisors. I would add something to the supervisor questions about treating the employee appropriately and with respect and ensuring that others do so (2 separate items).

Finally, I’d ask for an explanation of anything below a “2″ and definitely conduct this as an actual face-to-face interview, with the interviewer completing the form based on oral responses, or reviewing responses with the employee before both of them sign and date it.

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