Understanding HR Exit Policies: What Makes a Good Exit Strategy in Organizations?

Hi,

What is an HR exit policy and practice? What are good exit policies in an organization?

Regards,
Shaktiraj :)

Hi Shakti,

I understand your restlessness because 15 members have visited and yet no reply. All those who read may not reply, be unwilling, or may have thought it silly to reply. Any query posted here is with the hope that someone will help out.

Companies have exit interviews for namesake, and they are not going to be of much use. But it is always necessary to have the policy or forms in place. As an HR professional, you cannot report anything negative about the company, the Division head, or its culture based on what the outgoing employee has written in their exit interview sheet. Management might accept or deny it.

For that matter, please do not ignore the exit process. It is our duty to complete it. "Blow the conch, let those who have ears hear it."

To be frank, we do it just as a routine task: the filled feedback sheet, Separation Clearance form, copies of the Relieving letter/Service Certificate, and Final settlement form go into the employee's personal file. This is solely for your records and audit purposes. His story ends there.

Regards,
Chandru
Manager-HR

Dear Shakti,

Like what Chandru said, it is generally not of much use to have this, but you definitely need one in place. Over time, such feedback gained from exit interviews (we are assuming that the leaving employees do give honest opinions) can be used to improve the processes, policies, and operational matters in the company and help the company to move forward by rectifying any deficiencies, if any. However, this has to be assessed realistically due to the nature of the feedback given by the exiting employee. For what it is worth, having such a formal policy and exit interviews at least enables it to gather some feedback (that's all).

I don't think there is a GOOD exit policy or practice as most follow the standard practice of talking to the employee usually on their last day at work, and by this time, the employee is most often tuned out for his upcoming holiday or to his new job (which he will be taking up shortly), so this can add to the feedback not being constructive for future action. I have come across some companies dispensing with this, and some employees "got nothing to say" as a standard response.

Not sure if the above is helpful to you, but this is what I have come across. What I have seen in the industry so far is that most of the professional services firms like KPMG, Ernst & Young, and similar firms definitely practice this, though as I mentioned above, the value of this feedback remains to be seen.

Venkat

Hi, I am just new in the professional field, but my experience was that there is an exit interview where employees are asked the reason for leaving the company and to provide feedback for the company. This feedback can help the company to grow or identify certain policies that should be changed according to the employee's perspective.

Thank you.

I don't think there will be any company that has a specific and specialized HR department and does not have an Exit Policy.

An Exit policy is as much a need as any other policy of the Organization.

A few things are below:

An Exit policy consists of a statement that will state how the organization treats an Outgoing employee and how to handle attrition.

The Formalities include:

a) Approval of the resignation if it's voluntary termination of employment by the employee.

b) A Letter of termination (email or hardcopy letter) if the employee is being terminated.

c) Interaction with HR once the notice comes to see if the employee needs to be retained.

d) Information to the relevant departments like Finance, Security, Systems (Networking and Systems administration), Administration Department, and the Manager to whom the employee reports.

e) Exit Checklist to be completed by the employee (No Dues/No Objection).

f) Relieving Letter and/or experience letter.

g) Takeover and handover document from the respective department.

If an employee is being terminated, some of the practices are not required. That will again be based on the discretion of the organization and the policies they want to adopt.

These are some of the basic things. If I have missed out on any, please feel free to update me.

Thanks,
Vijay

I think Vijay's post covers just about everything that a typical exit process is comprised of. Also, part of the checklist may be things like staff inventory handover (staff to return company properties like keys to table/desk, laptops, car keys (if any), and other specific company property issued to the staff such as name tags, etc.

Thanks and best regards,
Venkat

Hi Saktiraj,

I do not agree with the points that were given by some of the seniors. In today's world, a lot of companies are working on retention of employees, and all of this can be done by analyzing the attrition/termination reasons.

Therefore, an exit policy is very much required in the company. It is also necessary to provide the proper handover from the resigned employee.

The exit policy covers the below-mentioned details:

1) Hard copy resignation (as per the compliance requirement)
2) Approval for resignation acceptance from the employee's manager.
3) No due clearance certificate/note for departments like IT/Accounts/Quality, among others.
4) Exit interview and detailed comments for HR SPOC.
5) Relieving letter/acceptance of resignation letter from the company.
6) Full and final statement in hard copy.
7) Experience certificate copy issued to the employee.

All these documents should be filed in the employee's personal file, and the comments from the exit interview should be captured in the system. A monthly report should be provided to the management.

Please find the attached formats for exit interview forms.

Thanks and Regards,
Kumar Gourav

Hi,

I have not practiced it yet in my company, but yes, I have an idea that an exit policy is in place for when an employee leaves the organization. All of his formalities should be completed, including a questionnaire about why he is leaving the organization, his feedback for the organization, his suggestions for improvement, and his future prospects.

I hope this gives you an idea.

Thanks,
Nitu

Hi,

The forms that Kumar has posted cover all aspects of the exit interview. However, as HR professionals, we should capture all the data of the employees who have left the company. A personal one-on-one meeting with the employee is always better than just asking them to fill out a form. The exit interview should not be conducted on the Last Working Day (LWD) of the employee. If conducted well in advance, we will be able to capture the exact reasons for the resignation.

Thank you.

Hi guys,

I'm new to this conversation and to this site as well. I've read all the views we've all spoken about exit policies and how they help in controlling attrition. I need a little help here. How can we control attrition? The company I'm working with has the highest attrition level. How can we work on it?

Hi,

I am working on my summer project on exit interviews in a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). Could you please assist me with the following information:

1. Is there a latest or new format, policy, and procedure for exit interviews?
2. How does it differ from the Private sector?
3. In a company with various branches, should exit interviews be conducted centrally or decentrally?
4. Who should conduct it - the Department head or a third person, i.e., HR?
5. How should exit interviews be administered in a PSU?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized exit interviews?

Please reply. You can email me at swats.t@rediffmail.com.

Thank you,
Swati