Conducting exit interviews – that’s one part of my job that I find extremely difficult to do. Like saying goodbye, which most of us hate and whose inevitability has taught us not to question it anymore, I dread that time when I need to face and talk to a departing employee.
Most of them get very emotional during the interview. Some weep silently; some sob uncontrollably; but no one leaves the room with dry eyes. When they start weeping, I’m at a loss on what to do. Should I remain detached and poker-faced like it is all business? Or do I hold their hand and hug them with unveiled empathy and compassion? Unable to think of the right words to say, I usually end up just nodding silently while waiting for them to compose themselves.
Some say how hard a decision it was to make, how they’d miss the friends they made in the company and that they don’t really want to leave. And I think to myself, if you don’t really want to leave then we wouldn’t be having this interview right now, would we? Of course you want to leave. So don’t tell me that you don’t want to as if it wasn’t your decision. Just stick to your choice and go. We just got to do what we got to do, right?