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Adam Grant says the “stupidest” time to hold an exit interview is when employees decide to leave. Do not look at me; I am only the messenger.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Grant urged more leaders to better time the exit interview and prioritize its more proactive and effective siblings: entry interviews and stay interviews. Both processes play an integral role in retaining valuable talent, uncovering gaps in corporate culture, and reversing the quiet exit, especially when leaders ask the right questions.
“I see a lot of CEOs scrambling and saying, ‘OK, we need to do exit interviews to find out from the people who actually left what we can do to keep the people we want to stay.’ I’m a big fan of exit interviews. Just one little problem: This is the dumbest time to manage them,” said Grant, who believes such discussions should continue from the moment employees join the company.
“Why would you wait until people have already committed to walk out the door to say, ‘If only I had a time machine, I’d go back in time to convince you to stay.'” What I’d rather see employers, are entry interviews and stay interviews,” he added.
Although similar, entry and retention interviews have two different tones and offer different value propositions to the employer. Onboarding interviews, which are aimed at new hires, consist of asking the same questions that one would normally ask during exit interviews, but at the beginning of the employment relationship. They help employers learn what attracts employees to the company and offer benchmarks for exit interviews. For an entry interview, Grant suggests employers start with the following four questions: Why are you here? What do you hope to learn? What are some of the best projects you’ve worked on? Tell me about the worst boss you ever had so we can try to emulate the good and avoid the bad.
Alternatively, retention interviews are aimed at more permanent employees within the company. The goal is to learn how employees feel about the organization before it’s too late. In general, retention interview questions address personal satisfaction or dissatisfaction, career goals, and problem areas. Some of the most interesting questions employers can ask include: What would make you leave the company? What is the defining moment of your experience here? What are low lights? What made you think about quitting and how can we make sure it doesn’t happen again?
While these interviews aren’t a silver bullet for any inevitable turnover, they can increase engagement and productivity by letting employees know that leaders value their opinions and what they bring to the organization.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@Amberton
Reporter’s notebook
The most compelling data, quotes and insights from the field.
Maintaining corporate culture amid a time of economic uncertainty will be one of the biggest challenges for HR leaders this year, says Tim Richmond, chief executive of biopharmaceutical company AbbVie.
“HR, as the social architects of the organization, must create and maintain an exceptional culture and build the best teams so that great talent stays. To create an exceptional culture, we must provide flexibility, support resilient teams and foster a collaborative, inclusive space for all.”
Around the table
Roundup of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts and long-reads.
– Apple has avoided job cuts (so far) due to its measured hiring policies and limited employee benefits. Wall Street Journal
– Employees who exhibit rude behavior do not advance faster than their friendlier colleagues, a recently published study found. Inside man
– HR software company Deel, which helps companies hire international workers, has reached a $12 billion valuation in its latest funding round. Forbes
– Some companies have replaced the corporate cafeteria with a full-service restaurant as they reimagine the office. New York Times
– Startup Peerlist aims to become the next LinkedIn as the latter moves away from professional networking and towards content creation. TechCrunch
Water cooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
More layoffs in the tech sector. Spotify has announced layoffs up to 6% of the workforce, about 600 employees. —Ashley Carman and Cameron Leach
Snowflakes or tough kids? Gen Z is the most resilient generation, despite its characterization as a “snowflake”. —Oriana Rosa Royle
Holiday bonus. Southwest Airlines gave employees millions of bonuses to make up for holiday flight delays that left crew members stranded along with passengers. —Chris Morris
HR job growth. The role of The human resources analysis manager is the second fastest growing job over the past four years, according to LinkedIn research. —Chloe Berger
“Too many people.” Ford plans to cut 3,200 European jobs after doing the same in the US last year. —Monica Rayment and Keith Naughton
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