Rarely does an employer get useable and accurate information in an exit interview, says Kristine Sexter, president of WorkWise Productions, a Tulsa organization that provides consulting in staff recruiting, development, and retention.
When somebody quits a job, it’s often because of a lack of trust in the employer. And rarely will anybody admit that. Ask “why are you leaving?” and the answer won’t be candid, if for no other reason than the staffer wants to use the firm as a reference. “People don’t want to burn bridges.”
On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for an angry employee to get vitriolic and cite a long list of things that weren’t acceptable. And no manager is going to do anything with that information. “It’s going to be brushed off with ‘Thank God he’s gone!’”
Enter the entrance interview.
It’s productive. It catches the employee at the most positive moment of the employment. The answers are straightforward and create a profile of the staff that the administrator can use to make the job interesting for that person and also to target career development areas.
Week #1: Lunch, informal
Entrance interview are best done during the first week of employment, Sexter says, because that’s when people are most eager to talk about themselves. And there’s good information to be had, because the manager can ask questions that can’t be asked in a job interview – questions about family and personal experiences
Do it informally. The best setting is at lunch. As to what to talk about, she lists the following items. She also recommend giving a copy of them to the staffer a few days beforehand so the staffer “can give some thought to them.” Some people will even make some notes.
- Start with a get-to-know-you question: Tell me more about yourself. Where did you grow up? What was your first job? What are your hobbies? Your outside interests?
“Probe, probe, probe,” she says. “This is about getting to know the person you just married” and finding out how to set up a long-term relationship that’s mutually beneficial.
To motivate somebody for the next five years, the manager needs to know personal things – personal interests and personal motivators.
If it comes time to award a gift card for outstanding work and the administrator knows the staffer is a golfer, a card to a golf shop if far more significant than a department store card “that gets spent on ketchup and socks and diapers.” The golf card says the manager made a real effort to give a reward that’s special to the staffer.
- Now find out what the firm is doing right in its recruiting: What are some of the things about our firm that made you want to work here?
Those are the things that made somebody want to work at this firm, not just any firm. Make a note of them and repeat them with the next hiring search.
The answers also give evidence of the staffer’s personality, Sexter says. Somebody who can’t name anything in particular is somebody “who was just looking for a job” and may not be easy to motivate.
- What aspects of this job are you most excited about?
People talk about their strengths here. “If they say they’re excited about doing X, that means they’re good at X.”
Follow those interests in making assignments, she says. People do better work and stay in their jobs longer “when they love what they’re doing.”
If somebody says “I’m excited about working with adoption matters because I’m adopted too,” that’s where the staffer is going to be happiest and do the best work.
- Which parts of this job are you concerned about?
And that’s where training is needed most. If the answer is “I’m concerned about learning X software,” somebody needs to provide help with that.
Also, she says, telling the person that the firm will provide training in those areas “allays some of the fear and reduces the anxiety” about performing well.
- What style of management allows you to perform at your best?
Some people want to be left alone to do their jobs; others want close supervision. If someone says “I hate micromanagement,” don’t hover. On the other hand, someone who says “I like coaching where the manager checks with me every morning” wants an interpersonal relationship and daily contact with the manager.
- What advancement would you like to make? What motivates you?
A new staffer who says “I want to make partner one day” is somebody who wants to get on the fast track, somebody who wants to make good use of every strength and move upward.
Or the answer might be “I have a baby, so it motivates me to be out the door by 5:00 p.m.” Now the manager knows that as long as that staffer performs, it’s worth it to make an effort to help her leave on time every day.
- What are you most eager to learn here? Are there any areas of development you would like us to help you with?
The answer might be “I want to learn more about divorce law” or “I want to learn such-and-such skill” or communication or public speaking or how to resolve conflicts. Some people might want to earn professional certification.
Whatever it is that’s mentioned, that’s an area of interest and an area the manager can expand with training. What people want to do is what they do best, she says.
- What kind of challenges let you to perform at your best?
And follow that with What elements of a job do you find least exciting?
If an answer is “I can’t stand accounting work,” know ahead of time not to assign that staffer to accounting tasks.
People may be quite good at various tasks, Sexter says, but being good at them “doesn’t mean they like them.”
- What types of recognition do you really enjoy?
“People never say a raise.” Instead they cite nonmonetary things such as “I’d really like to earn a day off” or “I’d like the opportunity to go to the XYZ conference.”
Some people like plaques. Some like certificates.
Some say they don’t want to be recognized publicly, and for them, be private. “But most people like the fanfare.”
- Even though you have only been here a few days, if you were asked to devise a way to have more fun here, what would you do?
All sorts of ideas will crop up here, she says.
The answers can run from the very obvious of “I like picnics where we can bring our kids” to the outlandish. For example, in one company staff hit certain goals and the boss took everybody to Macy’s and gave each person $100. They has to spend it all and then tell what they bought and why.
- What would make you leave this job?
This questions isn’t easy to answer, and people are often at a loss of what to say. But whatever answer comes out is going to be a foreshadowing “of what the realities will be.”
The answers can be surprising.
Someone might say “I had a boss who relied on intimidation and fear and threats, and I told my family I’d never let anyone put me through that again.” Or there could be personal issues the manager wouldn’t otherwise know about such as “My wife has cancer. If they give her a limited amount of time to live, I’ll have to leave.”
- What would keep you in this job?
The answers usually run along the lines of “a good manager” or “being treated fairly” or “having flexibility in my schedule” or “being asked my opinion.”
Listen carefully. Those are the things that will determine how long the new hire stays in the job.