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You can help alleviate some of this by being completely open and honest on your reasons for leaving a company (and it doesn't just have to be when you're leavin

You can help alleviate some of this by being completely open and honest on your reasons for leaving a company (and it doesn't just have to be when you're leaving, btw). I know far too many people that are somewhat timid in their exit interviews and simply state "I found a better offer" when really they're frustrated with how "it" is accomplished in their environment. Anytime I resign, I'm brutally honest. Some jackass being nitpicking during code-reviews? That might seem minor, sure, but it's annoying enough to add to that unhappiness threshold which drives people to quit. I make sure it's known as a contributing reason for leaving. If an organization doesn't pick up on these patterns that push people to leave because folks are too shy to share them, we get poor working environments and hiring patterns that are never fixed. It's easy to assign all the blame on these organizations and managers, but we have some options to help from the individual side as well.

woeirua 4y ago
I'm going to be blunt. Unless you are a rockstar that is irreplaceable in the organization, no one is going to give two shits about what you say in an exit interview. Your management isn't totally blind or naive. They know whats going on, but there are always reasons as to why they can't or won't act to change the situation. Typically, its because their manager is unresponsive or unwilling to change. Once you understand that nothing you can say or do in an exit interview will matter at all, then it makes sense to be as non-confrontational as possible in order to preserve any references you might have at that company. Prioritize your own career and well-being over any corporation.
- y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
  Disagree. That may have been true in the past, but it hasn't been the case for the past few years where employers bleed talent rapidly and are in dire need of anyone even remotely competent. I assure you, they are looking at exit interview data and it absolutely matters. A "rockstar" employee (I really hate that term, but I get what you mean) was a luxury many companies no longer have; now they're desperate to just keep the ship afloat with your average team. It's especially important to the many small businesses that have less than 100 employees - like my last employer - where individual resignations on a week-to-week basis is having huge impacts to deliverables. Even at the FAANG I'm currently at, it's very much an important data point. EDIT: FWIW I've had zero issues with "references" with my past employers. All of them are open to me returning as well, so this idea of burning bridges by being honest in exit interviews seems mistaken.
  - woeirua 4y ago
    This is why my wife's company has started doing "stay" interviews instead. Basically its just an hour where everyone down the receptionist gets to bitch at senior management about whatever is bothering them. If you're sincerely interested in changing course to affect your retention rate, then doesn't it make more sense to ask people why they might be thinking about leaving before they get another offer?
    - y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
      That's why companies do 1:1, retrospective meetings, and surveys, yes. People tend to hold back on those too, but of course creating friction while employed is much riskier than airing grievances when leaving a company. That's why I think it's important to get it all out at the end. It gives the employer another opportunity to complete the picture and understand the magnitude of which compounding problems enabled a poor working environment.

woeirua 4y ago

I'm going to be blunt. Unless you are a rockstar that is irreplaceable in the organization, no one is going to give two shits about what you say in an exit interview. Your management isn't totally blind or naive. They know whats going on, but there are always reasons as to why they can't or won't act to change the situation. Typically, its because their manager is unresponsive or unwilling to change. Once you understand that nothing you can say or do in an exit interview will matter at all, then it makes sense to be as non-confrontational as possible in order to preserve any references you might have at that company. Prioritize your own career and well-being over any corporation.

y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
Disagree. That may have been true in the past, but it hasn't been the case for the past few years where employers bleed talent rapidly and are in dire need of anyone even remotely competent. I assure you, they are looking at exit interview data and it absolutely matters. A "rockstar" employee (I really hate that term, but I get what you mean) was a luxury many companies no longer have; now they're desperate to just keep the ship afloat with your average team. It's especially important to the many small businesses that have less than 100 employees - like my last employer - where individual resignations on a week-to-week basis is having huge impacts to deliverables. Even at the FAANG I'm currently at, it's very much an important data point. EDIT: FWIW I've had zero issues with "references" with my past employers. All of them are open to me returning as well, so this idea of burning bridges by being honest in exit interviews seems mistaken.
- woeirua 4y ago
  This is why my wife's company has started doing "stay" interviews instead. Basically its just an hour where everyone down the receptionist gets to bitch at senior management about whatever is bothering them. If you're sincerely interested in changing course to affect your retention rate, then doesn't it make more sense to ask people why they might be thinking about leaving before they get another offer?
  - y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
    That's why companies do 1:1, retrospective meetings, and surveys, yes. People tend to hold back on those too, but of course creating friction while employed is much riskier than airing grievances when leaving a company. That's why I think it's important to get it all out at the end. It gives the employer another opportunity to complete the picture and understand the magnitude of which compounding problems enabled a poor working environment.