The article focuses on studying the validity of the exit interviews in organizations. It narrates the various consequences that the organizations face due to employee turnover. The study undertaken in the article empirically reveals the lacunae in the exit interview process by determining the actual reason for employees' quitting with the aid of exit interview data collected from various organizations. The article also suggests a methodological approach for the human resource practitioners to define and redefine the process of present exit interview system to measure the actual reasons for employee turnover.

In an era of cut-throat competition with organizations striving to achieve excellence, it has become a must for any organization to create a niche in the competing market space. Most successful organizations possess the niche in the form of competitive advantage through its human resources across the swath of the value chain of its business. The talent bank of an organization determines its competitive scope in the arena. Organizations are spending enormous amounts in the form of recruitment, training, and employee maintenance to acquire and sustain human talents. Thus, it becomes a daunting task for the strategic thinkers: the top level executives to retain and nurture the talents available in their organizations to gain a competitive advantage. One of the major concerns of an organization is retaining its employees. The situation becomes still more turbulent when top level executives; highly skilled employees; and star performers quit the organization, as the replacement of those employees becomes a daunting task for the human resource professionals. The common approach in finding the reasons for the employees' departure in an organization is through `exit interviews'. An exit interview records the reasons for the quitting of employees. The question is about the reliability of the exit interview in collating the right reasons for the employees quitting and to determine if it is a valid approach?

This article questions about the validity of the exit interview in recording the `employee turnover' reasons and also discusses the problems that it inherits. Before starting on a discussion on the issues of the exit interview, let us first get acquainted with employee turnover, its type and consequences.

HRM Review Magazine, Exit Interview, Methodological Approach, Employee Turnover, Organizational Culture, Socio-Psychological Attraction, Retention Strategies, Organizational Policies, Organizational Commitment, Organizational Psychologists.