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OPHTHALMOLOGY BUSINESS 100 February 2017 by Corinne Wohl, MHSA, COE, and John Pinto Who conducts the interview will differ depending on the size and organizational structure of your practice. It's best for it to not be a direct supervisor, so in the smallest practices we suggest that a doctor or non-direct manager conduct the interview. In larger practices with a deeper mid-level management team, the administrator is a good choice. The most fruitful interviews are conducted by an interviewer who: • Listens more than talks during the interview • Is not defensive about the employ- ee's perspective or opinion • Asks for solutions and ideas for any problems mentioned • Takes good notes that either confirm the departing employee's questionnaire answers or shed new light on why the staffer chose to leave An important final step is to share the feedback with appropriate management staff and doctors. Take action where indicated by changing policies or learning more about what you heard. If you were asked to keep something confidential, find a way to share the information without breaking the staffer's confidence. Exit interviews are one of many practice improvement and employee retention tools. They provide a great opportunity to strengthen bonds with both exiting and existing staff, while learning about your practice from an espe- cially candid perspective. EW Sample exit interview questions 1. Why are you leaving? 2. If you are going to another job, what does that job offer that your job here did not? 3. Did we meet your expectations as an employer based upon our job posting, interview, and orienta- tion? If not, please explain. 4. Did you suspect or have knowl- edge of any activities or proce- dures within the practice that would be in violation of any laws, regulations or that you considered unethical or illegal? If yes, did you report it to someone in authority? To whom? (Note: If this answer is yes, you must follow up more thoroughly on this compliance- related question.) 5. While employed with us did you take any suggestions to your supervisor? If yes, were they fol- lowed up to your satisfaction? If not handled satisfactorily, please explain. 6. Rate each of these aspects of your employment here from 1–5 (from terrible to excellent): a. Hourly compensation or salary b. Benefits c. Supervision d. Work conditions e. Orientation and training programs f. Advancement opportunities g. Coworker friendliness and cooperation h. Communication with management i. Fair treatment overall by the company Now that you have given your interview subject an opportunity to collect his or her thoughts and express them on the questionnaire, you will have a jumping off point from which to explore during the face-to-face interview. Schedule the interview in the middle of the given notice period (e.g., 1 week before departure if 2 weeks has been given). This allows for the acceptance of the change happening, but the employee is not yet disengaged. Review the entire form in detail during the exit interview. At the end of the interview, give the departing employee the opportunity to discuss additional thoughts or suggestions he or she wants to share. have been helpful for them to feel successful in their role. • You will gain a feeling for whether the initial orientation and ongo- ing training were adequate. • You could improve how you make hiring decisions in the future: • Does your selection process for hiring include a current position description with the essential skills required? • Does your hiring team have a clear understanding of estab- lished practice goals to share with the candidates? • Is the level of orientation and training commensurate with performance expectations? • When you promoted line staff like technicians or billers into management roles, did you provide appropriate education and patience as they grew in the role? In our experience, many depart- ing employees actually look forward to sharing their thoughts during an exit interview. They appreciate that the practice cares enough to listen to their perspective and suggestions for improvement that could subse- quently help their coworkers. Exit interviews can be empow- ering to the departing employee. Staff is often willing to share their experience with others, which can lead to improved morale for the remaining employees. If feelings have not already been hardened, such closing interviews provide an opportunity for you to encourage a departing staffer to send prospective employees your way. We find that the majority of departing employees are more can- did as they prepare to leave because there is less fear of retribution, out- side of future reference checks. There are a variety of methods for conducting such interviews. Our favored method includes using a face-to-face interview, preceded by a short questionnaire. Below are sample written ques- tions you can include in your own exit interview questionnaire. You can create your own form or adapt a generic one you find online. As with all personnel matters, its appropriate to run new protocols like this past your labor attorney. "Every exit is an entry somewhere else." –Tom Stoppard T he importance of conduct- ing an exit interview in the wake of every employee resignation is often over- looked. Paradoxically, exit interviewing provides an array of in- formation that actually strengthens critical employee retention efforts. If performed well, the process sends a positive message to both exiting and current employees by showing that the practice cares enough to find out why someone wants to leave the organization and what might have prevented it. Exit interviews are especially valuable in settings where turnover rates are higher, which is to say above 25% per year in most prac- tices. Conducting an exit interview will help you discriminate whether there is a deep systemic problem in your practice causing people to leave, or whether resignations are simply beyond your control (spouse relocations and the like). Exit interviewing can help you in these ways: • You will learn staff perceptions about the fairness of workload distribution. • You will hear feedback on supervi- sor effectiveness. • You will perhaps get a more hon- est sense of how valued and appre- ciated your employees feel. • You may learn if written protocols or more communication would The importance of conducting exit interviews To the point: Simple practice tune-ups for complex times Ms. Wohl is president of C. Wohl & Associates Inc., a practice management consulting firm. She earned her Master of Health Ser- vices Administration degree at George Washington University and has more than 30 years of hospital and physician practice management expertise. She can be contacted at czwohl@gmail.com or 609-410-2932. Mr. Pinto is president of J. Pinto & Associates Inc., an ophthalmic practice man- agement consulting firm located in San Diego. His latest ASCRS•ASOA book, Simple: The Inner Game of Ophthalmic Practice Success, is available at www.asoa.org. He can be contacted at pintoinc@ aol.com or 619-223-2233. About the authors

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