The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: MayDay on June 06, 2017, 11:29:58 AM
-
My boss is great and I think he genuinely wants to know why I'm leaving. It is a tiny company with no HR, no personnel records, etc.
I just gave notice and he asked to talk about how the company can better attract and retain talent. How honest would you be?
Fwiw, I'm leaving primarily for a geographic relocation, but I'd have left in 1-2 years due to low pay (including benefits, I'm doubling my salary), working from home (I hate it) and to a lesser extent the total lack of structure, clear goals, good recordkeeping etc.
But that last complaint is a positive in my boss's opinion- he specifically wants it to be low key and low stress. I just think we went well past low stress and kept right on going towards chaos, wasted time and inefficiency.
I've never been asked to do an exit interview before.
-
I would be absolutely honest.
-
I would be honest in a polite way. It is certainly fine to say that you are leaving for geographic reasons, and that you had concerns about the overall compensation package that would have played into a long-term decision anyway.
It's the "wow you're disorganized" issue that is more difficult. For that one, I would have a little humility -- maybe he is particularly bad at running a business, but it might also be that you just require more structure and someone with a different personality might thrive in that environment. So you might want to make a comment about how you weren't a good fit for the company culture, because you perform better with clear goals and a more structured approach. That way, you're not casting blame or telling him he doesn't know what he's doing (which is a sure way to make sure he dings you in any future references), but you are giving him honest information that he can consider if he actually wants to make any changes.
-
This question has come up before, I'll give the same answer:
There is no advantage to taking an exit interview. I always decline them.
1) You're leaving the company, how can it possibly help you?
2) Why are they asking you NOW? Why didn't they ask you when you weren't quitting? Only chicken shits ask questions to get honesty when people are going out the door. If they really gave a shit they would have been asking you all along what you don't like and working to improve conditions while you weren't quitting.
3) There is no point in pointing out problems or telling them what they can change. At best they'll take what you say into consideration... which is a terrible at best. At worst they won't take your considerations into account and label you a complainer or someone not to rehire/hire when they work somewhere else.
I loathe exit interviews/feedback, it's one of the worst parts of corporate culture.... after performance reviews.
-
This question has come up before, I'll give the same answer:
There is no advantage to taking an exit interview. I always decline them.
1) You're leaving the company, how can it possibly help you?
2) Why are they asking you NOW? Why didn't they ask you when you weren't quitting? Only chicken shits ask questions to get honesty when people are going out the door. If they really gave a shit they would have been asking you all along what you don't like and working to improve conditions while you weren't quitting.
3) There is no point in pointing out problems or telling them what they can change. At best they'll take what you say into consideration... which is a terrible at best. At worst they won't take your considerations into account and label you a complainer or someone not to rehire/hire when they work somewhere else.
I loathe exit interviews/feedback, it's one of the worst parts of corporate culture.... after performance reviews.
+1
Your leaving says all that needs to be said. Good for you!!
-
To be fair he asked me regularly during one on one if I was happy and if there was anything we should address. But I wasn't interested in trying to change the culture of the whole company, and while I could probably have negotiated higher compensation, and would have eventually before job hunting locally, I was mainly looking to relocate.
-
So far, no. I usually leave jobs due to petty bs, and it would make me look bad to be honest and say "Jane pisses me off pretty much daily, Amanda, my supervisor, is functionally illiterate, and I am so freaking sick of doing dishes". That was the exact reason I left my last job, with names changed.
-
In this situation, I'd only tell him that you enjoyed working there and are ready for the next adventure. There's no value in saying anything else.
As a manager, the only employee I've had quit I didn't push for an exit interview. We still talk occasionally
-
The only time I gave an exit interview was at a place that I was perfectly willing to burn bridges. That place had asked me to do things that were actually illegal - thankfully they didn't fire me when I refused, but I know others in the company were not as confident standing up to such requests, so I'm sure illegal things did happen. They also asked a lot of inappropriate questions, told a woman who had gotten pregnant that her job might not be available when she got back from FMLA, etc. I'm sure they didn't make any changes in response to my criticisms, but it sure felt good to say it.
Frankly, though, if their turnover rate hadn't convinced them, nothing I could say would.
-
It's been a while but for sure, be honest & polite.
Good to do this in interviews, leaving a job, etc. Help the other person improve, and ask for their feedback as well!