In this episode I want to talk about the best way you can get candid feedback on the health and strength of your culture. 

But before I do so, I think it’s important to set the stage by defining what culture is. 

Culture is the combination of beliefs, behaviors and attitudes that make up the social construct of an organization. 

So, by its definition, it’s easy to understand why culture is a key point of focus for so many companies. In fact, many prominent CEOs of very large and successful organizations agree that culture is more important than strategy. And they are correct. After all, you need people to execute on your business strategy, and if you have an unhealthy or dysfunctional culture, your strategy will not be executed very well, if at all. And that’s a problem.

Another aspect of culture is that if an organization is to be successful, it needs to be able to attract and retain high-quality people. That can only be done if your company has a reputation for having a healthy culture.

Now you may think, or even assume that the best way to get candid feedback on your culture is through doing an employee survey or questionnaire. Although internal culture questionnaires are very effective, revealing and necessary component of gaining insights into the health and state of your culture, there is another technique, or rather a tool that is in many cases even more effective that nearly all employers are aware of, but not all of them employ. It is the exit interview.

I’m going to explain why exit interviews are so effective, and how to facilitate them to get the candid feedback you need.

Measuring and monitoring the health and performance of your culture, which drives productivity and operational performance, cannot be achieved simply by getting feedback from employees during annual reviews or optimistically counting on them to bring urgent matters to your attention. 

From the employees perspective, the perceived, or perhaps real risk that speaking up could cause more trouble than it’s worth is motivation enough to keep quiet, stay out of the radar, and get through each day without attracting any attention. 

This tends to be a common problem in cultures led by crappy managers who rule through fear, play favorites, or are not respected. After all, no one really wants to be labeled as the company snitch or potentially cut their own throat by being the messenger of bad news. Plus, how many employees really look forward to the annual review process? And how many managers do? Thankfully, there’s been a trend to move away from the annual review and move toward a more frequent and engaging dialogue with employees, like human beings should. 

Think of it this way – If you have kids, do you coach them through life as they encounter new experiences and challenges? Or, do you wait for their birthday each year to do an annual review? 

Okay. Let’s move on…

So, here’s something for you to think about: If your company is experiencing higher than average turnover, or if you suspect there may be an issue with your culture, I want you to strongly consider mapping out and formalizing an exit interview process as part of your employee retention strategy. Give it as much attention as you do to the interview questions you use to screen candidates for hire. 

Alright, so let’s talk about timing. 

Facilitating an exit interview should never be done within that two-week timeframe between the submission of the employee’s resignation and the farewell lunch on his or her last day. The reason is because most people are very anxious when submitting their resignation, and they want to get the process over with as quickly as possible. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the relationship is between the manager and the employee, delivering bad news that will throw a wrench into the company is a devastation. 

So, as the exiting