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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 a

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

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.