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How many practices do exit interviews? Not as many that should. Exit interviews are a valuable tool to identify problem areas in the practice and to improve working conditions for your staff (exit interviews should be given to practice staff who voluntarily resign, not to those who have been dismissed).
By identifying and fixing problems within the practice, you can better retain your valued employees. It is not only costly to continually replace staff but it’s also a strain on the remaining staff by not only having to get used to the new personality in the group but to train them.
Here are some sample questions to ask employees close to their departure
- What is your primary reason for leaving?
- Did anything trigger your decision to leave?
- What was most satisfying about your job?
- What was least satisfying about your job?
- What would you change about your job?
- Did your job duties turn out to be as you expected?
- Did you receive enough training to do your job effectively?
- Did you receive adequate support to do your job?
- Did you receive sufficient feedback about your performance between reviews?
- Were you satisfied with this company's review process?
- Did this practice help you to fulfil your career goals?
- Do you have any tips to help us find your replacement?
- What would you improve to make our practice a better place to work?
- Were you happy with your pay, benefits and other incentives?
- What was the quality of the supervision you received?
- What could your practice manager do to improve his or her management style?
- Did any company policies or procedures (or any other obstacles) make your job more difficult?
- Would you consider working again for this practice in the future?
- Would you recommend working for this practice to your family and friends?
- How do you generally feel about this practice?
- What did you like most about this practice?
- What did you like least about this practice?
- Can this practice do anything to encourage you to stay?
- Did anyone in this practice discriminate against you, harass you or cause hostile working conditions?
- Any other comments?
(sample questions taken from About.com, an excellent business resource)
Think carefully however about who will conduct the exit interviews. This is where it’s important to have a manager that adopts a coaching style more than a dictatorship style. If your employees aren’t fond of your Practice Manager you won’t get honest feedback. Remember that one drop of vinegar can spoil the whole pot and it may be your manager that’s the vinegar!
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