Have you ever wondered why employees leave your organisation? An exit interview is the mechanism used to interview departing employees. Good exit interviews should also yield useful information about aspects of the working environment and the quality of the organisation, both in terms of its relationship with its staff, customers, suppliers, third-parties and most importantly management. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development states that a poor relationship with a line manager can be the "push factor" behind an employee's decision to leave.

Apart from the fact that the employer learns of the reasons for the employee's departure, exit interviews provide an excellent opportunity for the transfer of knowledge and experience from the departing employee to a successor.

The exit interview can also provide an opportunity to retain a valuable employee who would otherwise have left (organisations often accept resignations far too readily without discussion or testing the firmness of feeling – the exit interview provides a final safety net).

Exit interviews are best conducted face to face because this enables better understanding. In terms of managing the interview, listen rather than talk. Give the interviewee time and space to answer. The aim is to elicit views and feedback. Take notes and/or use a prepared questionnaire form and retain these for at least 12 months, not least because they could be used if a claim is subsequently made by the employee.

Ideally the company should have a documented policy stating how exit interviews happen, when, and by whom. Some organisations delegate the responsibility to a skilled interviewer in the HR department. Interviewers should be trained to interview, just as for normal job interviews.

For many organisations, exit interviews provide a major untapped source of 'high-yield' development ideas and opportunities. If you do not have an exit interview process defined, talk to your legal HR provider about getting one implemented.

Oisín Scollard is a Barrister and Director of HR company Employment Clinic

www.employmentclinic.ie