A survey from Cpl finds that employees would feel comfortable sharing feedback about mental health, company culture, management, and colleagues if they are asked before leaving a job.
By Maggie Mancini
A recent survey from Cpl’s Talent Evolution Group finds that 55% of U.K. employees were not invited to a formal exit interview after resigning from their last job role. The survey of 1,500 ex-employees who have resigned within the last five years reveals that one-third of workers are not asked to provide feedback at all, revealing a missed opportunity for improvement.
Instead, companies risk employee feedback being shared online, with the rise of public review platforms such as Glassdoor and Comparably, which 69% of survey respondents say they have used to review a previous employer. With over half of these reviews holding negative sentiment, by skipping the process of an exit interview, organisations are missing the opportunity to resolve issues and concerns internally.
Most participants say they would have felt comfortable sharing these views and opinions with their employer if they were asked. Workers are specifically open to providing feedback on company culture (72%), mental health implications of the role (72%), their line manager (70%), and their colleagues and peers (69%).
“There’s a clear disconnect between why employers think their employees are leaving and the actual reason behind employee exits,” says Áine Fanning, managing director at Cpl’s Talent Evolution Group. “Our survey revealed that over a quarter of ex-employees felt their feedback would not make a difference to their workplace. If companies make a concerted effort to better understand why employees are leaving and take meaningful action to retain them, employers could gain an edge in the race to attract, develop, and retain the talent they need to create a thriving post pandemic organisation.”
With over half of respondents revealing that they would have considered a counteroffer during the process of exiting their last role, organisations should consider the exit process not only as a valuable chance to gain employee feedback, but also as an opportunity to retain talent.
