Your star employee just gave notice, and you are clueless about why they’re leaving. You thought they were happy, with good work hours, benefits, and quality leadership. But therein lies the problem with being in management or Human Resources: our employees don’t always want us to know their problems, especially as they pertain to the company’s culture. So you may work along in blissful ignorance, unaware that your gentle island breeze of a culture is actually a killer typhoon. That knowledge won’t help you save your star employee—they already have one foot out the door. But what you can do is solicit honest feedback from those employees who have already decided to part ways with your company. Exit interviews can uncover that typhoon in time rescue those who stay behind.

During your next exit interview, try out these five questions:

1. What drove you to look for new work? This is the most obvious and direct question you can ask—basically, “Why are you leaving?” The reason may be personal to the employee, such as a long commute or late work hours. But the reason may also point to an issue in your company, such as low compensation rates or lack of support from management.
2. What factor(s) made you accept your new position? What does this other company have that yours doesn’t have? A 4/10 work schedule? Higher compensation? Better benefits? Knowing what makes other companies more desirable than yours can help you to re-evaluate your company’s competitive strategy.
3. Did you feel adequately equipped to do your job? You don’t want your replacement employee to leave for the same reasons! You might find out your company lacks training and professional development opportunities, has a micromanaging leader, or struggles with jargon that is unfriendly to newcomers.
4. What one thing would you change about your job or the company? This may not be an easy answer to hear, but it is one of the most useful, as it will pinpoint the primary reason your employee is leaving. And since your employee has already decided to move on, they’re more likely to be candid about suggesting improvements—if you make it clear that you value their feedback and won’t hold their feelings against them.
5. How could we have kept you employed? At this point, you shouldn’t ask this question in the hopes of meeting the employee’s needs. But this powerful question can uncover what you could have done to encourage this employee’s loyalty, which may help you to encourage the loyalty of those still in your employ.

These five questions can help you gather critical data from an employee who’s already chosen to leave the company. But what’s better than an exit interview? A stay interview can keep employees from leaving in the first place. Check out this excerpt from the YES! Your Human Resources Solution article about the stay interview:

In a stay interview, managers learn the unique reasons why their direct reports continue to choose the company as their employer. Stay interviews also help managers create career plans to enhance the likelihood of retaining their employees. Employees benefit by hearing directly from their supervisor that they are a valued member of the team. This results in both manager and employee accepting responsibility to ensure the “staying” occurs.

Read the full article here.