Measurement of reasons for resignation of professionals: Questionnaire versus company and consultant exit interviews

Abstract

3 different information sources of reasons for voluntary resignation of several hundred professional employees in a large manufacturing company were evaluated: (a) exit interviews conducted by company management, (b) follow-up attitude questionnaires mailed from the company's personnel department, and (c) exit interviews by an outside consultant. Over 3 successive years, the distribution of reasons for termination derived from management exit interviews did not correlate significantly with data from the follow-up mail questionnaire. For 37 Ss there were significant differences between exit intreviews by management vs repeat interviews of the same individuals by the outside consultant (p < .01). More negative information was generated through the consultant interviews (p < .01). Results suggest distortion to exit interview data collected by company management. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)