Exit interview

[MiamiWindMachine]

I’m about to leave my job after five years. I was headhunted, so it wasn’t that I was particularly unhappy or desperate to leave - I just got a very good offer. I have a great relationship with my boss, who is disappointed I’m leaving, but understands that it’s a great opportunity. I’m glad to be leaving on good terms with her and the team and will only have good things to say about them in my exit interview.

However, I don’t feel the same way about HR. I know that, as a sector, it doesn’t exactly have a reputation for attracting the best and brightest, but this is genuinely the worst team I’ve ever come across in my career. I had to deal with the then Assistant UK Manager a couple of years back and she was robotic, utterly lacking in empathy and made several mistakes. She’s since been promoted to UK Manager 🙄

As you can tell, I have no time for her, but it isn’t about personal dislike. The whole department is run extremely poorly. Everything is very “computer sez no”; there’s nothing approaching common sense in any of their decisions. Last year, they opened the annual review feedback system - with a fixed window of two weeks - on 12 December. Our annual review deadline was Boxing Day. They used the same system to open an important survey on 17 December. It’s like Christmas and New Year - which in my experience roll around roughly every year - and all the associated disruption don’t exist in their world. They must have had complaints, because they moved the annual review forward by six weeks without a word, meaning you were buggered if you’d happened to book those two weeks off. There have been many other organisational issues too.

I wanted to say all this in my exit interview. But now I find they’re sending the most junior member of the team possible to do it. Not even the Assistant Manager; I’m essentially getting the secretary. I feel insulted, and it’s just another sign of their lack of interest, or even general critical thinking. They haven’t even bothered to find out whether the company is desperate to keep me or thrilled to be rid of me.

As I say, I wanted to talk up my boss and leave on a high note. But I feel like I have to get all this out there. Maybe it won’t do any good, but at least I’ve got closure.

WWYD?

No idea. Probably ticks an “employee voice” box. No one ever wants them unless they’ve got a massive axe to grind but they’d be better off putting in a grievance and no one ever wants to conduct them. Pointless all round.

They already spoke to me when I resigned (to try to persuade me to stay) and know why I'm going. This feels superfluous to requirements! Maybe they should make them optional.

Sorry but I have to agree with some of the other posters , you are coming across as a bit full of yourself. The HR ‘secretary’ probably does all the exit interviews. They aren’t something that companies pay a great deal of attention too, particularly when they are used by employees to settle scores and vent. Decline the interview and move on with your life.

What a drama llama!

But that’s what I mean, VP sounds grand but it’s only Director level in the UK. if your boss’ boss is the VP/Director, I assume you are senior manager. So I’m not sure why you’d expect to do your exit interview with the HR manager for the territory.

Were you born this ignorant or did you have coaching?

It's amazing how the same people trying to paint me as a bitch for wanting to see someone more senior than the admin assistant are equally desperate to minimise MY job.

Were you born this ignorant or did you have coaching?

Woah, that's rude!

I totally agree that you're not coming across well with how you're describing the HR person assigned to your exit interview - compounded by your lack of willingness to reflect on that when it's been pointed out.

HRDs will very very rarely be the ones to do exit interviews, that's not their role. However that doesnt mean exit interviews are useless.

Id suggest going and praising your manager and team as its sounds like they deserve the good feedback and I'd think how to tactfully and constructively word the challenges around timings of surveys etc as i think that's useful feedback. General digs/grumps about HR will never go down well though, there's no point.

So they’re sending the junior…. What if the junior takes on board what you’ve said& further clarifies it to be true and tries to implement change? Or do we just treat all junior staff like 💩 on your shoe?
Remember most of us have been juniors at one point and in my experience they do the most work!

I haven’t treated anyone like shit.

Out of interest, OP, is the job title of the staff member they're sending to meet with you literally Secretary?

Maybe not to their face you haven’t however, your not even giving them the decency of using their correct job title! You seem big on the importance of you and your role within the company yet don’t seem fussed talking down someone else…. Hopefully the new HR picks up on your entitled attitude and keeps an eye on you!

Maybe not to their face you haven’t however, your not even giving them the decency of using their correct job title!

And how, pray, would you know what their correct job title is? Unless you have incredible powers of deduction, you cannot possibly even know what industry I work in, never mind the specific company - so you certainly can’t know the job title of those involved.

Hopefully the new HR picks up on your entitled attitude and keeps an eye on you!

😆😆😆

I'd decline the exit interview, and send an email to the head of HR, cc to your manager saying that the exit interview should be conducted by someone with the same relative seniority as you have.
And then just leave it at that

I just can't understand a) why you care so much about an exit interview and b) why you expect your current employer to care what you think of HR. Exit interviews are not mandatory anyway so just decline it if it's stressing you out this much

OP - you sound absolutely ridiculous.

Why should a senior person conduct your exit interview especially as you've clearly had run-ins with the Senior HR people in the past? Exit interviews are really not important as people keep telling you. Don't take it to heart.

I just can't understand a) why you care so much about an exit interview

Oh dear.

All your responses to people are quite aggressive. You used the job title of Secretary as an insult and quite frankly if this is how you are as a person HR are probably happy you are going.

BTW hate to break it to you, but HR don't actually care about exit interviews or what you have to say they just have to give you the opportunity to say it.

Did your head of HR not contact you when you resigned to ask you to stay? That's what happened to me after I emailed my notice: a meeting was put into my calendar with the Head of People (or whatever her title is!) to see what it would take to keep me.

She's off this week so I have the person in charge of recruitment doing my meeting. I really don't care who does it, especially as I've had my say already.

Not even the Assistant Manager; I’m essentially getting the secretary. I feel insulted,

Sounds like you are just not as important as you think you are.

I’ve declined every exit interview - no good comes of them!

The Junior will take your message back and they’ll all have a good laugh at your expense.

Don’t bother.

BTW hate to break it to you, but HR don't actually care about exit interviews or what you have to say they just have to give you the opportunity to say it.

You're probably right. No one has ever lasted in the position; this one probably won’t either. Just one more waste of space.

If your main upset is having to speak to a junior team member, why don't you request to meet with the person you deem worthy if that's important to you?