The last conversation with an employee who is leaving is often their most honest one with the business. Many businesses skip it, or hold it in a rush and with irritation.
The approach Masoud Akrami uses in the organisations he works with has two layers: a legal layer and a human layer. Both apply to every kind of exit.
Layer one: by the law and the code
If the exit follows a disciplinary breach, labour law expects the necessary warnings to have been recorded in the person’s file beforehand. Without a complete file, the business’s decision is weak against an objection. This is the same code everyone was told about at the start; unjustified absence, for example, carries the clear consequence the code states.
This is not legal advice. Check each case against labour law and a legal adviser.
Layer two: leaving with respect
Even when the exit follows a breach, Masoud does not drop the exit interview and the farewell. The reason is simple: even after an unwelcome decision, the person has worked here for days and seen things the manager has not.
- 1An exit interview of twelve questions, held privately. Why are you leaving? What are the business’s weaknesses and strengths? What do you think of your direct manager and your unit? Who had a positive effect on your work? What should change? What advice do you have for your successor?
- 2At the weekly team meeting, an appreciative and respectful farewell, with flowers and a gift.
- 3Answers are recorded, but reported to the manager in general terms and without names, unless the person gives permission.
What research shows
The CIPD Good Work Index 2026 (UK data, not Iranian) finds that among employees who experienced conflict at work, 51% let it go and only 31% spoke to a manager or HR. And 20% of all employees have no channel to voice their views. In my view, for many people the exit interview is the first and last chance to speak.
A tool: the exit sheet and the quarterly review
- 1Print the twelve questions, and let the person write or speak, whichever is easier.
- 2Have someone who is not their direct manager hold the interview, so the answers are more honest.
- 3Every three months, lay all the answers side by side and write down only the recurring patterns: manager, pay, growth path, work climate.
- 4Give each pattern one action and one owner. If there is no action, the exit interview is only a formality.
Try it this week
Read the twelve questions and choose just one whose answer you do not know from your last departed employee. If you do not know it, your business has not yet heard.
Do not treat an exit as only the end of a working relationship. It is the last chance to hear from someone who has nothing left to hide.
Handle every exit twice: once lawfully and on the record, once humanly and with learning. The second is what improves the business.
