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Working in recruiting isn’t just about bringing in new talent. It’s also understanding why current talent decides to leave. Both are two sides of the same coin. In this sense, it’s crucial to take part in exit interviews with employees looking to explore other opportunities.
Yes, there’s never enough time in the day for recruiters, and burnout from stretching yourself too thin is killer. But trust us—getting involved in exit interviews will pay off. Here are three things you can learn from exit interviews to apply to your recruiting strategy.
1. Employee Dissatisfaction Trends
An exit interview is the perfect opportunity to facilitate an open discussion with employees about why they’re leaving and what wasn’t satisfactory about the company. Whether it’s the company’s culture, benefits, or salary, being a part of exit interview discussions will help you identify patterns that cause employees to leave.
If every employee leaving mentions a negative company culture, for example, this is your opportunity to make strides to fix it and reduce employee turnover.
2. Improve Your Job Offer
Not only will an exit interview help you understand why an employee wants to leave, but it’ll also help you understand why an employee accepted an offer at another company.
Did they accept because the company had better benefits? Because the salary was higher? They offered flexible work options?
Finding out why current employees left will help you make your own job offers more appealing to current talent. And in today’s competitive job market, any insight into what attracts candidates is invaluable.
3. Strengthen Your Company Brand
Your company brand impacts your recruiting and your recruiting strategy. Your brand isn’t just what you put on social media, it’s also what former employees have to say about you on employer review websites.
Meeting with employees before they leave gives you an opportunity to address any of their concerns and grievances with the company. While you can’t control what they post online, an honest conversation with an upset former employee is a great way to mend a potentially negative relationship.
Whether an employee leaves due to the commute, a disagreement with a manager, or something else, it’s important to use the exit interview to make them feel heard and apply their feedback to ensure that the negative things they experienced don’t happen to others.
Next Step: Apply Feedback to Your Recruiting Strategy
You’ve had candid conversations with former employees, repaired negative relationships, and now have a better understanding of how to differentiate yourself in a competitive market.
It’s nearly impossible to address every piece of feedback for larger organizations. However, take the time to meet with the relevant people to discuss the concerns the former employees raised. This will help you, hiring managers, recruiters, and department heads develop a game plan to make changes.
No matter the company, there will always be some form of employee dissatisfaction. Your reaction to dissatisfaction is what helps or hinders the growth of your organization.
Big or small, any feedback during an exit interview is important, and all former employees should feel heard and understood. After all, you never know if your paths will cross in the future.
Keep Talent Smiling with GoodTime Hire
We’ve gone over several crucial ways to use exit interviews to your advantage—but wouldn’t it be great if employees didn’t have a reason to leave?
Believe it or not, the secret to retention starts in the hiring process. When you successfully cater to candidates, you create new hires that are eager to stay with your company for the long haul.
And the key to exceeding the expectations of candidates? Leveraging GoodTime Hire.
Hire automates coordination, builds relationships during interviews, and provides actionable insights to continuously improve your connections with applicants.
Interested in learning all about how Hire can give your recruiting process an edge? Say no more.
