A Better Opportunity Came Up

Eventually every leader faces the fact that a valued employee has decided to resign, and when asked why they're leaving, they say “I wasn't looking to leave but this other opportunity just came up.” It’s a polite answer, and most of the time it’s only part of the reason they’ve chosen to move on.

People don’t always tell their manager why they're leaving, because sometimes the reason is the manager, and it’s just easier to not risk any hurt feelings and depart on good terms.

Then what typically happens is the position is quickly posted, transition plans are scheduled, and nobody learns about any contributing factors that played into the employee’s decision to leave. As a result, the root cause remains in place for the next person to experience.

An employee exit survey, when administered with the assurance of confidentiality, can shed light on the contributing factors.

Exit survey details must be treated sensitively. One survey is one person’s account. Two people naming the same thing is a pattern, and that’s when it becomes a coaching conversation.

Employee Exit Survey Tools

The Employee Exit Survey is a short form the departing employee completes in their last week. It asks about seven areas of the job and ends with the one question that matters most: what would have kept you here? Every person who leaves answers the same questions, so patterns are easy to identify.

The Leader’s Guide covers who administers the survey, the email that sends the survey to the employee, what you can and cannot promise about confidentiality, and what to do once two surveys show a pattern. It also provides options for business owners with no HR department.

Word, PDF, and Google Docs. No sign-up.

Every pattern you catch and fix contributes to a better experience for the remaining staff and for the next person you hire.

To your success,

Richard

Founder, Leadership-Tools.com

P.S. Not everything that comes back will be easy for a leader to read, and that’s the point. Feedback you’d never hear otherwise is the kind that raises awareness and improves the workplace for the people who remain. Get the Employee Exit Survey.

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