Capturing information anonymously online is considered to be one of the most effective methods of gathering information about an employer’s retention issues.

And departing employees are more likely to respond in a frank and honest way when presented with a confidential online questionnaire, says Donna Neill, psychologist and Managing Consultant of Beilby's HR Consulting Division.

She advises employers not to use HR departments or line managers to hold exit interviews.  “Employees who jump ship are less likely to participate in an online interview if they fear some kind of backlash, plus online interviews have a higher response rate.”

In a recent Beilby survey on exit interviews, almost half of respondents said departure interviews were conducted by HR or line managers, using a standard set of questions.

A significant fifty-nine per cent of employers surveyed said their company did not hold exit interviews and that the organisation had no means of capturing employee feedback when departing employees move on.

The Beilby survey also indicated that less than five per cent of employers have an automated system for generating reports of the data collected, information that could be instrumental in establishing key trends or issues within an organisation.

“A survey-oriented system is far more effective than one based on anecdotes,” said Donna. “What we're looking to do is measure the change in the emotional and intellectual commitment of a person, relative to the drivers that are being measured, and I recommend this is viewed on an 'engagement versus detachment' basis."

She suggested information from exit surveys should be linked directly back to an employer's engagement strategy, identifying the factors that are consistently leading to "decisions to detach", to help companies protect their employee brand.

More than half of employers surveyed by Beilby said they were confident their CEO or business leader would act on trends and issues identified during exit interviews; however, 47 per cent said their company had no formal follow-up process.

Exit survey responses from white-collar employees have shown that the biggest single issue employees have with managers is a perceived lack of interest in their career development, followed by a failure to listen to requests for resources. Departing employees have cited the perception that colleagues did not value their job or contribution as a main reason for problems with co-workers.