The exit interview sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to analyzing your organization’s corporate culture, employee retention, and, ultimately, your operational efficiency. The opportunity to find out the reasons behind any employee’s desire to work somewhere else offers insight into your policies and procedures. Was it merely a case of a disgruntled worker wanting out, or do you need improve some things at your office?

With an eye towards building — and retaining — a top notch medical office staff, here is a closer look at improving your organization’s exit interviews.

Make Sure the Employee’s Manager does NOT conduct the Interview

To truly receive valuable feedback from your departing employee, it is vital to have someone else other than their direct manager conduct the exit interview. Consider using a member your human resources team for this task. If no one is available, someone from another department will have to suffice.

The relationship between supervisor and employee is too close for a meaningful exit interview. An outsider’s perspective is necessary.

Verbal Exit Interviews are Better than Paper or Online

Spend the extra resources to ensure exit interviews are conducted in person, on a one-to-one basis. This allows the interviewer to probe more deeply into an employee’s reason for leaving. Follow-up questions and interaction between both parties lead to a more rewarding and useful result for your company.

Emphasize the Confidential Nature of the Exit Interview

The employee in question needs to fully understand the purpose of an exit interview, as well as its confidentiality. They need to feel comfortable enough to answer the questions honestly and in sufficient detail. Reassure them that no attempts to get them to reconsider their decision are forthcoming.

Have the Employee summarize their Experience with your Company First

As the first step during an exit interview, have the employee provide a summary of their experience with your organization. This helps to trigger additional questions providing the meaningful information that offers the most value for the company. Additionally, you may receive answers to questions to be asked later, helping to save time for the most important topics.

While your organization doesn’t want its best employees to leave for another company, proper use of the exit interview hopefully helps to change the office culture — if necessary — to prevent further departures.

If your medical company needs additional assistance in building a winning team, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the top healthcare staffing agencies in the country, we offer the top notch candidates able to make a positive difference from the first day forward. Schedule a meeting with us soon!