I recently conducted a few exit interviews for clients, asking people about their reasons for leaving. What did they value about the organization? What advice would they offer that could benefit the organization? What would they like to see changed, if they were to come back? I asked these and other similar questions to help them reflect on lessons learned, and to help inform senior management about specific ways to seek continuous improvement.

Striving for continuous improvement is critical to the success of organizational culture. It requires humility coupled with inner confidence: “We’re good, and we must always try to be better.” Some people and some companies simply do not seem to want to change. Change requires awareness and effort, yes, but it is often the catalyst for significant growth and progress

How often do we hear that a person who has left a company was not really that good, that he’s no loss? Just last month, I heard about a guy who headed sales; he was with his company for 17 years. His exit interview was perfunctory. It went right into a file, read only by someone in human resources (HR). Senior management showed no interest.

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