Send Crew Exit Questionnaires to Help Your Shipping Company

A seafarer submits their resignation.

Maybe they accepted a new employment offer. Perhaps they simply decided that their time with your shipping company has duly run its course. Maybe they're looking for a change in their career, and your company can no longer provide it for them.

Who knows? At this point, it shouldn't be your business, right?

Actually, it is. 

Finding out why individuals leave is essential to the success of your business. Sure, a resignation is a normal part of the employee life cycle. 

Yet, it is a serious matter of business when it comes to "unwanted attrition," which is the loss of high-performing or highly engaged seafarers for reasons that could have been avoided.

Especially for the maritime industry, where the recruitment landscape is highly competitive. 

So, what can you do to learn more about your crew's reason for leaving? And how can you make sure you address these concerns to lower employee turnover? 

Send them an exit questionnaire.

What is an exit questionnaire?

The most effective method for determining why employees quit a company is to conduct exit surveys or exit questionnaires.

Since these positions are occupied by seafarers about to depart, they can provide first-hand and valuable information that helps you identify potential shortcomings and improvements to the working environment.

Why is an exit questionnaire important?

Some people find it simpler to convey their thoughts and feelings in writing than in person. 

You may get considerably more detailed responses to your questions from an employee exit questionnaire than you would from an exit interview by allowing your seafarers to comment on their opinions of the company and what improvements it could use.

There are other benefits to sending your crew an exit questionnaire, such as:

Reduces turnover

Knowing the reasons why employees leave your shipping company is the major goal of an exit questionnaire. 

It is possible to take the necessary steps and make the necessary improvements after identifying these causes. As a result, you can save time and money, and the turnover rate decreases.

Improves hiring

Additionally, being aware of candidates' reasons for quitting might help you identify any flaws in your hiring practices. 

It's possible that the seafarer didn't get what they were hoping for from the job. This turns out to be especially helpful if employees leave a particular position soon after joining the company.

Concludes the working relationship on a positive note

Also, after resigning, employees frequently harbor negative views toward the company. That can lead to some people speaking negatively about the business. 

An employee exit questionnaire offers the ideal forum for employees to express themselves and let out their aggravation if there is any.

The questionnaire makes them feel heard, improving their final experience working with your shipping company.

The makings of a good exit questionnaire

The design and interpretation of an exit questionnaire should be far more practical and straightforward than it would be for a standard engagement survey, which analyzes constructs based on employee views.

Some may simply inquire about the role and reasons for leaving, while others target questions about the management and experience onboard of the departing crew. It's important to consider other options when creating exit interview questions so your business can learn more.

The best ones, however, are:

Clear and objective

Right from the get-go, the departing crew should understand why you're sending them an exit questionnaire. So include that objective in your questionnaire if you want to gain more insight into their experience while working for you.

Your ex-crew is bound to be more cooperative and helpful when they clearly understand your intentions.

Asks difficult questions

Don't be afraid to pose difficult questions, especially those that shed light on apparent flaws or points of improvement in your management, fleet, and company.

The goal of the exit questionnaire is to help you improve, so go ahead and ask questions about your departing crew's experience working with you.

Encourages open dialogue

Encouraging your crew to open up will be a tad difficult if you don't give them an exit questionnaire that lets them do so.

There are many ways to create a questionnaire; sending them one where they can express their feelings and insights in words rather than pre-conceived options may be even more helpful for your cause.

Sending exit questionnaires through Martide

Being a global and fast-paced industry, conducting traditional one-on-one exit interviews may be difficult for your ship managers or HR staff.

At Martide, our goal is to streamline every aspect of the crewing process, and that includes the offboarding process as well.

Even if your departing crew is located elsewhere, you can still get their feedback and insights with our Forms feature developed for shipowners and crew managers.

Here's how we make it easy for you to design standardized questionnaires:

Create a form that works for you

We give you the flexibility to create and edit your exit questionnaires with ease. 

You can choose from various question formats such as Paragraph, Multiple Choice, Checkboxes, Linear Scale, Multiple Choice Grid, or Checkbox Grid. 

Mix and match question formats according to your preferences. Then, if you've gathered enough data to discover which format works best for you, you can tweak your exit questionnaire whenever you please.

This way, you maximize the questionnaire and receive insights that will help you improve your processes and operations.

Send the form with ease

Sometimes, departing employees won't even bother answering exit questionnaires, but not with Martide.

You can create an Offboarding Pipeline and add the exit questionnaire form as a required stage. 

This way, the ex-crew will know that this questionnaire is essential and will take the time to answer it for you.

To summarize

An ending employment relationship is never easy, especially for the maritime industry, which constantly works on a tight schedule and competitive hiring landscape.

But if there's a silver lining, you can use a departing seafarer's insights to improve the experience and management you provide your employees.

This is possible with an exit questionnaire, and now with Martide's Forms feature, you can make its administration convenient for both your crew managers and ex-crew.

Want to learn more about Martide's solutions? Visit our website or schedule a no-strings-attached demo today.