Exit Interviews: How Open Should You Be?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Friday, August 6th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal.
Are exit interviews mandatory and can your employer withhold final pay if you refuse?
Earlier this week, we talked about questions to ask yourself before quitting a job. If you do decide to leave on your way out, you might be asked to do an exit interview with someone from the Human Resources Department.
The idea is that because the employee is leaving, they might be able to speak a little bit more honestly about their experience that they had during their time there.
But how honest should you be? Our reporter Allison Pauley has spoken with HR experts, along with workers who were in exit interviews as they were leaving a company. She'll tell us what she learned after the break.
This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cyber criminals are constantly attacking. They want your data.
What is the intended purpose of an exit interview and what do HR teams want to learn?
They want your identity. They want your innovation. ReliaQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. ReliaQuest, agentic defense for the enterprise. Learn more at ReliaQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T dot com.
Handing in your resignation from a job is often followed by a call from the HR department for an exit interview. People leave jobs for a lot of reasons, and some workers might view the exit interview as a chance to air their grievances. But how far should you go? How honest should you really be? Our reporter Allison Pauley is here to talk about it.
How honest can you be without burning bridges during an exit interview?
Allison, thanks for being with us.
Thanks so much for having me.
So Allison, first of all, are exit interviews typically a requirement when somebody leaves a job?
They are not typically a requirement, but many companies do them. But if you're nervous about it, your paychecks or benefits are governed by federal and state laws, so an employer can't withhold your final pay if you choose not to participate.
Okay, so what's the intended purpose of the exit interview, and what do HR departments want to learn from soon-to-be ex-employees?
So ideally, exit interviews are an opportunity for the company to learn what they could have done better or what they can do better in the future. And the idea is that because the employee is leaving, they might be able to speak a little bit more honestly about their experience that they had during their time there. But it's a tough balance and employees, a lot of them question just how honest they should be.
Yeah, employees could be kind of walking a fine line, and I want to get to that in a moment. But with the exit interviews, is there any benefit to the departing employee to take part in one?
Yeah, for employees, it can be an opportunity for them to get certain things off their chest. And it is a forum where they can provide the employer with some information in the hopes that they can make improvements.
But don't these kinds of interviews put employees in a tough spot? I mean, like you said, they want to be honest, but they don't want to come across as being rude or insulting.
Absolutely.
How should departing employees prepare and frame feedback for an exit interview?
It's really tough to strike a balance between being honest and not wanting to burn a bridge. So one expert I spoke to said you can be as honest as you want. You just have to be professional. It can be tough because a lot of employees are looking for job recommendations down the line or they might end up working with some of the professionals who they worked with at their current company.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:40
2
Are exit interviews mandatory and can your employer withhold final pay if you refuse?
0:40–1:17
3
What is the intended purpose of an exit interview and what do HR teams want to learn?
1:17–2:08
4
How honest can you be without burning bridges during an exit interview?
2:08–3:37
5
How should departing employees prepare and frame feedback for an exit interview?
3:37–6:51
6
Which questions or topics are you allowed to decline answering in an exit interview?
6:51–7:51
7
What real exit-interview experiences did former employees share and what worked for them?
7:51–8:06
8
How did participants feel after giving feedback and is participating usually worthwhile?
8:06–8:28
Speakers
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