Ask the Staffing Doctor

Gainful Goodbyes

Daniel Abramson

Q At your Vision Expo seminar, you talked about using exit interviews as a valuable tool to understand employee motivation, to decrease turnover, and to increase morale in my practice. Can you share some tips and scripts for doing a proper exit interview?

A When an employee walks out the door, a chance to gain insight walks in.

If you don't take the opportunity to do an exit interview when an employee gives his or her two-week notice, you're missing a golden opportunity to learn valuable information about you and your practice.

Never underestimate what you can learn from departing employees. You can use the exit interview to find out exactly why an employee is leaving and, at the same time, improve the structure of your business.

So, don't just shake hands and say goodbye.

Here are some step-by-step pointers and scripts that I suggest you incorporate into your exit interview.

BE OBJECTIVE

1. Set a relaxed, positive tone.

Select the best person to handle this interview, and don't assume it's you. Consider using an outside consultant to keep the process objective.

Also, start off by reassuring the exiting employee about the confidentiality of the session.

Say, “Our purpose here is to find ways to make our company a better place to work.”

Continue with, “While we will listen very carefully to your input, nothing you say here will attributed directly to you. Please feel free to tell me what you really think.”

QUESTION CAREFULLY

2. Allow for some warm-up by asking easy questions first. Begin by confirming some basic facts about the exiting employee's history: “You started work with the company on ____, correct? And you started with the ___ Department on _____, right?” and “What were your basic job duties when you started? Have they changed? How?”

Then segue to some “how long” and “why” questions, such as “How long have you been thinking of leaving?” and “What started you thinking that way?”

Another question to draw the person out is, “Could you develop that a little more?”

BE RECEPTIVE

3. Your goal is to gather information for future use, not to defend policies or individuals. Use “third-party” phrases to avoid confrontational answers, such as, “What could management do to improve?” rather than, “How badly did John Smith…?”

If a statement challenges you or throws you off guard, say, “I appreciate your honesty, _____. Tell me a little more about what you mean.”

If the exiting employee starts to get too emotional or confrontational, say, “____, you obviously feel very strongly about this, but I 'd like to ask you to calm down a bit and suggest some specific actions we could take to improve that in the future.”

GO WITH THE FLOW

4. Be flexible when conversation flows in a useful direction. If the employee opens up and needs to spend some time talking about a subject that is relevant but not next on your list, go with it for a while.

When the time is right, say, “ _____, you've made some important points here, and I've made careful note of them. Right now, though, I need to cover some other topics with you. Tell me…”

SAY THANK YOU

5. Summarize the exit interview and leave it on a positive note. Say something like, “ _____, those are all the questions I have for now. After I've had a chance to go over my notes, I might want to ask one or two follow-up questions. I know that these kinds of conversations can be awkward and I want to thank you for speaking with me. We addressed a lot of questions.”

End exit interviews by leaving the door of communications open, try, “If there's something I can do for you, or if something else comes to mind that you think I should hear, please contact me confidentially at _________ .” EB

Priorities Revealed Exit interviews conducted in a structured fashion will likely yield familiar patterns. If your practice is like most, the responses you'll gather will fall into the following five categories: OPPORTUNITIES ■ Perceived opportunity for advancement ■ Presence and/or clarity of career development plan ENJOYMENT ■ How well the job utilizes the employee's skills ■ The employee's personality “fit” LEADERSHIP ■ Clarity and strength of vision and mission ■ Management style ■ Overall perception of leadership by employees ■ Level of respect and support received by employees ■ Frequency and level of communication SKILLS ENHANCEMENT ■ Opportunity to learn new skills/develop new talents ■ Corporate commitment to training and development ■ Chance to keep up with the latest technology COMPENSATION/REWARDS ■ Base/variable pay ■ Benefits ■ Recognition of contributions ■ Communication regarding performance

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If you have a question you'd like to have answered in Ask the Staffing Doctor, send it to editor@eyecarebusiness.com or Daniel@staffdynamics.biz. An archive of past columns can be found at www.eyecarebusiness.com.