The Value in Stay and Exit Interviews

Stay and exit interviews can be a valuable source of information when it comes to employee retention and, thus, practice prosperity. Here, I explain how, organized by each interview type and the value they pose.

STAY INTERVIEWS

• Value to the Owner

Stay interviews show what employees think you’re doing well and where there may be room for improvement. You can opt to conduct them every 3 to 6 months. If a concern is raised, be prepared to respond to it. Take, for example, the case of an employee falling behind on their patient schedule because of a slow front desk protocol. This scenario presents an opportunity to determine whether your front desk staff needs more training to confidently and quickly do their jobs. You can also look into having patients complete certain documents and submit their insurance for verification online before their appointment to simplify the in-person registration process.

• Value to Employees

Conducting stay interviews lets employees know you care about their well-being and ability to be successful in your practice. This, in turn, translates to employees feeling valued in their role, which makes them more likely to remain in it.

• Pro Tip. Train your employees well enough, so they can leave, but treat them well enough so they don’t. One of the best ways to do this is through profit sharing. When the practice does well, you can incentivize your employees to keep up the good work by sharing profits in the form of bonuses.

EXIT INTERVIEWS

• Value to the Owner

You reap the benefits of these interviews, which enables you to target areas that can be improved within your practice, so questions should be worded accordingly. Asking these questions may not change the mind of the departing employee, but it could help to better recruit and retain future employees.

Importantly, wait an appropriate amount of time after the employee’s exit before conducting the interview (up to a month is recommended), and use a Human Resources (HR) representative or a representative from an outside HR company to ensure comfortability and professionalism.¹ These interviews can take place through a variety of mediums, such as in person or via video conference, depending on your level of comfort.²

• Pro Tip. There are several types of employee turnover (Table 1)³ and various reasons employees leave organizations (Table 2). A common reason is job misalignment due to unrealistic performance goals or unclear responsibilities and expectations.^1,3 Consider formally outlining and explaining essential job duties.

Further, get ahead of potential turnover by recognizing the signs employees often exhibit when they are thinking about leaving (Table 3).⁴ If an employee starts to show these signs, get to the root cause of their potential departure and address it. Avoidable and dysfunctional turnover are the two types of turnovers employers want to steer clear of.

AN INVALUABLE OPPORTUNITY

Stay and exit interviews provide information about what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better.³ Thus, consider implementing both to help bridge any gap that may exist among you and your staff.