KEY POINTS:
New Zealand employers are failing to do all they can to improve their workplaces and keep valued staff, says a leading Auckland recruiter.
Megan Alexander, Senior Manager with Robert Half, says this year's Robert Half Auckland Salary Guide shows most employees have never had an exit interview when leaving a job, but almost three-quarters of them think exit interviews are worthwhile.
"In a time when employers are crying out for skilled finance and accounting staff, it's simply inexplicable that they're not doing everything possible to find out why staff are leaving and ensure they fix any workplace problems," says Alexander.
Robert Half questioned more than 1,100 finance and accounting professionals, ranging from accounts payable/receivable, all the way up to CFOs, and across all industries and sectors. Fifty-seven per cent of them said they had never taken part in an exit interview, but 72 per cent of them said they thought exit interviews would be worthwhile.
"Most of them were prepared to tell the truth in an exit interview - 69 per cent of those who had taken part in one said they gave their honest opinions and constructive feedback when they were leaving a job," says Alexander.
"A mere 7 per cent said they did not give honest reasons for leaving the job, while the remaining 24 per cent said they sometimes did and sometimes didn't.
"Exit interviews provide an unrivalled opportunity for employers find out what might need fixing in their workplace, and what they can improve to ensure they hold on to other valuable staff," says Alexander. "Given the skills shortage they are facing, it baffles me that so many aren't taking this opportunity."
Employers who take exit interviews seriously use what they find out to improve workplace culture as well as employee retention and recruitment strategies, she says. And they also use them to find out what non-financial benefits they can offer to help to retain staff.
"For example, our salary survey this year also found that almost half of employees would accept a lower salary in return for flexible hours. By asking leaving employees what would have influenced them to stay, employers can find out what they can do to ensure remaining employees become more engaged."
Employers should think carefully about exit interviews to ensure they get useful information, says Alexander. They should never be carried out by the leaving employee's immediate boss - who may be part of the problem - and some organisations might employ a third party to carry them out.
Employees should also be asked open-ended questions, which allow them to say what they really think about the company culture and management, their actual job and even their relationship with colleagues and clients.
* The 2008 Robert Half Auckland Salary Guide was based on a survey of 1,158 finance and accounting professionals, carried out from 28 January to 15 February 2008. The results of the survey were collated and analysed by Galaxy Research, an independent accredited market research company.
