Offboarding discussion

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Guide for the offboarding interview

Offboarding interview - A guide for the exit interview

An employee leaving is an unpleasant matter. At the same time, the situation does offer something positive: the opportunity for an exit interview. Such an interview at the end of the offboarding gives you the chance to get valuable feedback from your employees. With the right questions, you can identify problems and avoid mistakes in the future. In the long term, this will increase satisfaction in the company and reduce turnover. This guide shows you how to design a structured offboarding interview.

What is an offboarding interview? And why you shouldn't do without it.

If there is a separation between the employee and the company, for example in the event of dismissal, a structured offboarding process follows to support the employee during their exit. An offboarding meeting (often also known as an offboarding interview or exit interview) should be an integral part of this process. This is particularly recommended if the termination was not carried out by the company.

Goals and advantages of an offboarding meeting

The final interview gives the company the opportunity to say goodbye to the employees personally and thus show its appreciation for the work done. In addition, further goals can be achieved, including:

Find out reasons for termination
Identify optimization opportunities for company processes
Identify opportunities for improvement in terms of company culture
Avoid negative employee reviews
Offer the option of returning at a later date

The bottom line is that all of these points contribute to time and cost savings for the company, for example through

Increased employer branding and the resulting advantages in hiring
Increased employee retention and consequently lower turnover
Process optimization and resulting time savings, e.g. during onboarding and offboarding
Secured income for the company through a consistently sufficient number of staff to cover the volume of orders

Conduct an offboarding interview online?

In times of hybrid work, it is no longer unusual for a certain proportion of employees to work exclusively remotely. If such an employee is made redundant, the offboarding meeting will usually also have to take place online. Thanks to modern communication solutions such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, this is now possible without any problems.

The disadvantage: Not being in the same room can affect the atmosphere of the conversation. The advantage: People often give feedback more freely, especially negative feedback, when they are not in the same room.

Another advantage can be that the conversation can be recorded for later evaluation. This allows you to focus entirely on the conversation without being distracted. However, be sure to get the okay from everyone involved in advance for the recording.

Checklist for Structured Offboarding

With our checklist, you won't forget any more important tasks and will make a positive last impression on your employees. Practical: The checklist is also available as a free PDF download.

Offboarding discussion - do's and don'ts

To ensure that the offboarding interview is successful, you should consider a few points.

Voluntary participation: Inform the employee that you are interested in an offboarding interview. This gives your counterpart the opportunity to prepare mentally for the meeting and, if necessary, to think about which points should be addressed. Also clarify whether the colleagues in question are willing to have such a conversation. In order to receive useful feedback, the employee should participate in the meeting with a good feeling. Make it clear that the company is interested in the opinion.

If a face-to-face conversation is not an option, a survey could be a possible alternative. Some people find it easier to communicate their thoughts in writing and perceive conversations as an interrogation situation.

Structure: In principle, the interview should take place in a relaxed atmosphere and not appear forced. Nevertheless, it makes sense to conduct the interview along a structured guideline or questionnaire. If the situation allows, you can go into individual questions or points in detail during the interview.

Neutrality: Limit yourself to noting the answers of your counterpart and not judging them. Personal views or even accusations can quickly negatively affect the atmosphere of the conversation and lead to you no longer receiving honest answers.

Content: The exit interview should focus on obtaining feedback. It is not the place for handover discussions or to clarify other formalities. Therefore, exclude other topics.

Who should attend the offboarding meeting?

During the development of the offboarding concept, consider which people should take part in exit interviews and under what circumstances. In principle, the following applies here: The fewer participants, the better. A large number of people can quickly have an intimidating effect.

Typically, in addition to the employee, a representative from the HR department is part of the conversation. It may also be useful to invite a person of trust to the meeting.

Consider whether superiors should also be part of the interview round. Bear in mind that the offboarding interview is exclusively about general topics relating to the company. Specialist final discussions are held elsewhere.

In general, ensure that no individuals with a strained relationship with the employee participate in the conversation. The goal should be a harmonious and trusting atmosphere where personal views can be communicated openly.

Example: Questionnaire for the offboarding interview

Below we have put together a series of questions for you that can be asked during the offboarding interview.

Termination

What is the reason for the termination?
Why did you choose us to begin with?
To what extent did your work differ from what was discussed in the interview? Was this part of your decision?
What would have had to change for you to stay?

Technical work

Did you have the equipment you needed to do your job well?
Did you get the help you needed to do your job well?
What should we look out for in new appointments?

Career

Did you feel sufficiently challenged and encouraged?
Were you happy with the salary?
Did you see opportunities for career development with us?

Processes

How did you find the onboarding process?
How did you feel about offboarding?

Company culture

How would you describe the corporate culture?
How was your relationship with colleagues and superiors?
How did you feel about the atmosphere in the team?
Would you recommend the company as an employer? What was positive, what was negative?
What tips would you give us for increasing employee retention?
Were you satisfied with the managers?
What improvements do you hope to see from your new employer?

As you can see from the different questions, the offboarding interview does not have to be limited to the (reasons for) termination. Rather, you should take the opportunity to find out as much as possible about general topics.

It may be useful to use different questionnaires for different scenarios. For example, questions to management personnel may differ from questions to “simple” employees. Use the same questionnaire for each conversation (with the same group of people). This gives you the opportunity to systematically evaluate results and analyze progress. If you receive similar answers to individual questions time and again, there seems to be a need for action in the corresponding area.

Employee turnover cannot be avoided, but it can be reduced. Use the opportunity of an offboarding interview to get as much feedback about your company as possible and reduce turnover in the long term.