When you’ve just found out that one of your team members is moving on, there’s often a range of emotions and a lot of work generated! Amid everything, it’s easy to miss slotting in an exit interview. And sometimes it can appear that there won’t be much to gain from one.
In this article, we present some points to consider and discuss why exit interviews are something to prioritise. We also provide tips on performing theming and some content you might like to include.
Benefits of exit interviews
When done well, exit interviews provide an opportunity for:
Gathering honest feedback about your organisation, the role and even the competition.
Identifying opportunities for improvement.
The team member to give something extra back to the company before they finish up.
The team member to be heard, so there are no residual bad feelings towards the organisation.
Obviously, this will all be from the standpoint of the individual and their role (and, of course, they may have some ‘baggage’), but in our experience, there is always value gained from the process. And whilst you may try, it’s tough to keep track of all aspects and perspectives of individual roles in a busy practice, so even just a reminder of these can be helpful.
We recommend doing an exit interview with every team member who's leaving and willing. Of course, you’ll adjust your questions and duration based on the role, but everyone from the holiday scanning student up can provide valuable insights.
Maximising the potential gains
Putting the following in place will help ensure you maximise the outcomes from each exit interview:
Determine who the best person is to perform the interview. This will depend on the situation, but it will ideally be someone with authority, solid knowledge of the company, and existing rapport with the team member. Sometimes, getting assistance from someone outside the organisation will be appropriate.
At least a couple of days prior, notify the team member that you’re looking to set up an exit interview, plus when and what you're seeking from them – their honest and open feedback and insights, to identify opportunities for improvements to patient/client service and experience, and for continuing team members and the organisation.
Explain who will have access to their contributions. Will it be 100% confidential? Will they be consulted about how it will be shared? Creating a safe space will help you gain maximum engagement from them.
Allow plenty of time. You’re seeking a good discussion and considered responses, so you don't want to rush the conversation.
Prep your questions beforehand, allowing yourself time to reflect and be comfortable that you’ve covered what you’re looking for.
Ease into the interview by starting with a few straightforward, ‘not-so-meaty’ questions. Your team member will likely be a bit nervous, and this will help them settle in and open up.
Work hard to be open and accepting of their inputs, acknowledging and asking for more info/examples where relevant.
Thank them for their contributions, including, where possible, noting specific actions you’ll put in place on the back of their input.
Allow yourself time afterwards to finish your notes and identify action points from the information received. This step is essential to maximising the gains from the process!
Potential questions and discussion points
It’s worth developing a standard list of questions to select from and then adjusting/adding to these based on specific things you’re looking to find out from each individual.
Potential inclusions for your list are:
Their motivations for leaving – including working to get past the superficial and socially acceptable responses.
The role – what has supported them to perform optimally and enjoy it, and what has hindered them? This could include everything from IT through workspace, practice policies and procedures, and reporting relationships.
Were the expectations of them reasonable and achievable?
The company - where it stands out, could it do better or innovate, and what could you learn from your competitors?
The workplace and the team overall – what will they miss, and what would they change for others in the future if they could?
Did they feel that their pay was reflective of the work they performed?
Under what circumstances would they consider returning to the organisation?
Do they have any other feedback they’d like to provide or suggestions to make?
Exit interviews can bring out some confronting contributions…! As the feedback recipient, you need to remember the crux of performing the exit interview – to gain the team member’s input and then utilise what will benefit your organisation moving forward.
If you’d like some help to harness the great opportunity that exit interviews represent, the Augmentum team can assist with everything from establishing the questions you’ll ask and coaching you through how to do them to performing the interview/s for or with you – just get in touch!
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision-makers in many key areas, such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success.
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