Organizations conduct exit interviews when an employee leaves the organization. The intention is to obtain feedback, to learn from the employee about the work conditions, a supervisor, culture, and other aspects of the organization. The premise is to get nuggets of information that will enable the organization to improve.
From the organization’s perspective, to what avail? The departing employee shares their perspective, and often the feedback is then viewed in a less than positive context since the departing employee has a label of disgruntled. Why do organizations not ask themselves why we did not know this sooner, and what are we doing that prohibits current employees from expressing themselves freely?
As the employee, you have kept quiet during your employment, and now you feel you can offer your honest, open perspective. Does this imply you have been anything but genuine all this time, and how does it help you now that you are leaving to be vulnerable? The information may benefit the colleagues who do remain, yet if you had opened up sooner, there might have been action sooner while you were in employment. So why find your voice when you leave?
What if organizations emphasize obtaining open feedback while employees are with them rather than when they exit and similarly encourage employees to feel safe and find their voice while employed?
