10-?-2025: Stop asking why employees quit (do this instead)
TAKE #1 -- CONFLICT: Your best employee just quit. In their exit interview, they finally tell you everything that's been wrong for months. You promise to fix it for the next person. Meanwhile, you've lost institutional knowledge, damaged team morale, and will spend $50K-plus replacing them.
TAKE #2 -- CAUSE: Exit interviews are the workplace equivalent of asking someone why they're divorcing you after they've already moved out. The best people don't leave companies. The truth is, their bosses, co-workers, and the company culture have already left them. And by the time they're talking honestly in an exit interview, it's too little, too late.
TAKE #3 -- CURE: Replace exit interviews with stay interviews. Ask current employees beforehand: "What would make you leave?" "What keeps you here?" "What's frustrating you?" Do this quarterly, not when they're already gone, physically and/or mentally. Prevention beats autopsy every time.
KEEP IN MIND: Exit interviews are like asking for restaurant feedback after the customer has already posted a one-star Yelp review.
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Let's pick up the pieces together.
L. Therese White
Employment Mediator
Workplace Conflict Resolution Coach
ThereseWhite.com
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