To think exit interviews are pointless

[Covidbegone]

Just this really. I work on a team of 15 and in the last year 7 have moved on, and tbh the atmosphere has become quite rubbish. I know that nearly all gave mild reasons to leave the team (which privately I’ve been given different reasons) and ultimately I don’t think they’d tell the truth in the event that they annoyed the team leader and damage their reference, or make them seem bitter to their new employer if they were honest about why they wanted to move on. I’m not going to comment on what I do, but wondered if others found this too?

In my previous role, my manager had a very clear favourite. It drove the whole team insane that none of the rules applied to The Favourite.
Even HR commented that The Favourite could do no wrong!
So much so, people started leaving.
One guy left and gave an exit interview detailing all the faults of The Favourite. Absolutely nothing changed in the team.
He was unhappy in the new role and tried to come back (and he was desperately needed!) but the manager refused, all due the exit interview feedback.
So when I left, I gave as little information possible in my exit interview as I wanted the safety net of returning if the new job didn't go well.

i changed job last year. All leavers are sent a link to an online exit interview questionnaire. I didn’t complete it as the answers to the questionnaire would only have been read by my manager, who was the reason why I left. They’d have bitched about me and nothing would have changed. No point doing it.

I worked in the nhs. I left because they merged teams and one of the team members was a long-term bully who'dnever been delt with. Who turned her attention to my boss, then to me. Both of us left (both taking a lower band job), management knew why but stated they'd be no exit interview as they were to busy to schedule one. However I wouldn't have told them exactly why I was leaving in a documented process because you never know when your going to end up being managed by someone from a previous time in the nhs as they're always moving managers/merging teams. It wouldn't have been good for my career.

honest feedback is never pointless.

If employees aren’t giving honest feedback then they need to be reassured that there are no negative consequences of doing so. You’ll never get everyone to open up but if some do then it’s worth it.

My DD worked for a high street retailer and they asked afterwards. She gave an honest account and two staff members were moved. It had become a family click of negativity. It should be asked once in the new role.

My exit interview from Debenhams was the best 15 minutes of 2 years of working there.

I didn’t hold back about the way they treated their shop floor staff, feel tv like I was a spokesperson for my lovely colleagues I was leaving behind.

The no clue managers ears got pinker and pinker as the interview progressed, never regretted it and luckily never had to return to that type of job again so wasn’t held against me.

This. After 35 years with the same organisation and with in-depth knowledge of its problems, I left without an exit interview … both my manager and me were kept busy all morning.

On the plus side I didn’t get a chance to tidy my desk either, so someone else had the job of wading through it all.

Totally pointless. At one job I was all fired up to say what I really thought but when it actually came to it, I just ended up saying ‘oh it’s been fine I guess. I just want a new opportunity’ (or words to that effect.

Really I wanted to say that I was leaving because of the toxic environment, bullying and the fact that they discriminated against disabled employees. In the end, I was so worn out I just wanted to leave and forget about it.

Totally pointless. 4 people (inc me) named a specific person being a massive bully as reason for leaving in interview and she got promoted to super prestigious position.

In our organisation the boss/line manager is not allowed to read the specific comments on the exit form only HR.

Totally pointless. 4 people (inc me) named a specific person being a massive bully as reason for leaving in interview and she got promoted to super prestigious position.

@Scarecrowrowboat Yes, it's same in my workplace 😥

They're pointless if nothing is done from the info given. I left a job years ago because the supervisor had horrific mood swings and when she was in a bad mood, was awful to everyone. Like spoke to them disgustingly, and the atmosphere all day was so bad.

She made multiple people leave, all told the manager why they were leaving and nothing was done about it. So I imagine others didn't bother as what was the point?

The only one I ever had, I was totally furious at the time and didn’t hold back at all. The day after I left, the big guns from head office turned up with pizza (why is it always pizza??) and held a meeting with the staff to specifically discuss some things I’d written and apparently things did get better, I had lots of messages from ex colleagues about it at the time so I think in my case it helped.

No.

I used my exit interview to express my views and share my experience of a bullying colleague. I explained why I hadn't raised the issue at the time, and the ramifications I believed it was having on the team and the organisation. What my ex-employer did with that info I don't know, but I specifically waited for my exit interview to share the information, and wouldn't have felt safe doing it any other time.

They're often rather unnecessary, but they represent a unique opportunity for things to be shared on both sides if and when needed.

In my experience they are pretty pointless because the employers weren't interested in listening and learning why retention rates were poor. If they got any negative feedback they'd get all huffy and try to argue that the points weren't valid.