Andraya Carson: Conducting Effective Employee Exit Interviews

Posted by G&A Partners:

The only constant about an organization’s workforce is that it is ever changing. And although losing employees is inevitable, an employee’s last few days also present a critical opportunity for business owners, managers and the HR team to learn how employees really feel about their employer.

While people are currently employed by an organization, they are often afraid to fully voice their opinions. After the decision to leave is made, however, they are often more willing to offer honest feedback about their experiences. This period, an employee’s last few days or weeks, is the perfect time for your HR team to conduct an exit interview.

Conducting effective exit interviews is not always a skill every manager or HR team member is born with, but the feedback received during exit interviews is a critical part of managing a workforce. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind during your next employee exit interview:

• Treat exit interviews like traditional hiring interviews.
  Structure and plan for exit interviews just like you would any hiring interview during the recruitment process. Many of the same best practices for interviewing a potential candidate apply to interviewing an employee leaving your organization. Set up a meeting time and place, try not to interrupt, take notes, etc.
• Come prepared with a list of exit interview questions.
  Just like any hiring interview, you should prepare a list of questions to use during your exit interview process. Sample exit interview questions might include:
  • What made you start looking for a new job?
  • Was there any singular event that caused you to decide to leave the company?
  • What aspects did you enjoy about your job?
  • What did you dislike about your job?
  • Is there anything you would change about your position?
  • Do you have any suggestions for improving our company’s work environment?
  • Why did you value most about the company?
  • Do you feel that you had all the resources and support necessary to perform your job?
  • How did you feel about your relationship with your manager?
  • Did you feel that your supervisor valued your work?
  • Did the reality of your position fit with the job description you were given?
  • Did you receive feedback about your day-to-day performance from your supervisor?
  • Did you have a clear understanding of how the goals of your position fit within the overall goals of the company?
  • What skills and abilities should we look for in your replacement?
  • Would you recommend this company as a place to work to your friends or colleagues?

A word of advice: Don’t limit yourself to the sample exit interview questions above or use the list like a script. Instead, allow the interview to evolve organically as a conversation. This will better help you garner valuable feedback and make the employee feel more comfortable speaking with you.

• Avoid having multiple interviewers.
  While panel interviews are considered a standard part of the hiring process, a panel exit interview may cause some employees to feel like they are on trial. Instead, exit interviews should be conducted one-on-one, preferably by a senior member of your HR staff.
• Set the tone.
  Exit interviews don’t necessarily have to be formal affairs. Depending on the manner of departure, it may be more appropriate to have a more conversational or informal approach. Making an exit interview feel too formal can make an employee feel intimidated, and you definitely won’t get the kind of honest feedback you’re looking for.
• Don’t ask people to play the blame game.
  No matter how much effort you put into trying to make employees feel comfortable during exit interviews, asking them to name names or assign blame will quickly put them on edge. Instead, ask about specific instances or situations that may have led to their departure, rather than asking someone to rat out their colleagues.
• Let them vent.
  Listening to an employee vent about their frustrations can sometimes make you feel uncomfortable, especially if the employee isn’t leaving voluntarily. And while some of the feedback received may not seem particularly useful, it allows employees those leaving on bad terms to feel heard and possibly make peace with your organization. The key in these situations is to allow the person to fully finish their list of grievances and then try to identify the root of their issues, as they may be indicative of a more wide-spread problem.
• If you’re not sure why someone is leaving, ask.
  It’s an unfortunate reality that sometimes organizations lose great, high-performing employees. Most of the time, the reasons are readily apparent: new job, retirement, relocation, family issue, etc. But occasionally some star employees seem to leave for no apparent reason. When a hard-working, previously loyal employee decides to leave, use the exit interview as an opportunity to (respectfully) probe into their reasoning. There may be an underlying problem within your organization that needs to be dealt with.
• Don’t want someone to leave? Ask them to stay.
  Although it’s uncommon, some organizations may use the exit interview as a last-ditch effort to convince someone to stay. If an employee who is integral to your organization decides to leave, it may be worth it to see if there’s anything your organization can do change their mind. A great way to get to the heart of an employee’s decision to leave is to ask: Are there any conditions, if changed or improved, under which you would decide to stay with the organization? If your organization is able to change or improve these conditions, the employee may be willing to stay.
• Can’t meet in person? Send an online exit interview survey.
  For whatever reason, sometimes it’s impossible to set up a face-to-face interview with a departing employee, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose out on that valuable feedback. Try sending the employee an online exit interview survey. This strategy is especially helpful for businesses with multiple remote offices that may not all have a full HR team on staff. Alternatively, you could conduct your exit interviews with remote employees via video chat or Skype.
• Follow up on feedback.
  If you’re not going to follow up on the feedback you receive from former employees during exit interviews, you might as well not even conduct them. Come up with a process to evaluate and act on the answers you receive to the questions you ask, and make sure you discuss opportunities for change with managers and executives.

Conclusion

Exit interviews, if conducted effectively, can prove to be a key resource in understanding how your employees perceive your organization. By incorporating exit interviews into their termination processes, employers can then take steps to capitalize on the feedback received during exit interviews by addressing any frequently mentioned problems or areas of concern.

Written policies and procedures, like the ones employers have regarding termination processes and exit interviews, serve as guidelines for managers and employees alike. Without these guidelines in place, misunderstandings and misdirection can lead to troubling errors, employee injuries and even costly lawsuits and litigation. Some employers find, however, that they lack the human resources expertise to develop and create proper policies and procedures.

That’s where professional employer organizations (PEOs) come in. PEOs employ experienced HR professionals that help businesses avoid costly missteps and mistakes by working to develop compliant policies and tailor HR procedures to fit and promote the values of each client.

G&A Partners, a leading national PEO and HR outsourcing provider, has been helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses, take better care of their employees and enjoy a higher quality of life for more than 20 years. G&A alleviates the burden of tedious, employment-related tasks by delivering proven human resources processes and technology, allowing business owners and executives to focus their time, talent and energy on their company’s core products and services.

Learn more about how G&A Partners helps businesses grow by calling 1-800-253-8562 to speak with an expert or visiting G&A Partners‘ website to schedule a business consultation.

Source Credit: http://www.gnapartners.com/blog/effective-employee-exit-interviews/

 

Andraya Carson: Labor Department News Releases Update

In the week ending December 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 289,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 294,000 to 295,000. The 4-week moving average was 298,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 299,250 to 299,500.

Official Report Link: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20142262.pdf

Andraya Carson: Think You Can Get Away with Unpaid Overtime? Think Again.

DOL helps more than 5,300 Pennsylvania and West Virginia oil and gas workers recover $4.5M in back wages for unpaid overtime

12/09/2014 01:00 PM EST

Thousands of workers employed by contractors engaged in natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania and West Virginia are putting in a fair day’s work but not receiving a fair day’s pay. An ongoing multiyear enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division offices in Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh from 2012 to 2014 found significant violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act which resulted in employers agreeing to pay $4,498,547 in back wages to 5,310 employees. Wage and Hour Division investigators attribute the labor violations in part to the industry’s structure.

FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE (SOURCE CREDIT): http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20141883.htm

If you have any questions regarding what employees should be paid in overtime wages, or if you have employees that should be exempt from overtime, please contact Andraya (Dray) Carson from G&A Partners for more information. acarson@gnapartners.com

Andraya Carson- Make a Plan Before the Storm

Great article by Mandy Edens (US Dept of Labor)

Every year we hear news reports of communities devastated by hurricanes and tropical storms. Winds during these weather events can exceed 155 mph, and even after a storm subsides many dangers remain in its wake.

Hurricane season starts in mid-May in the Pacific and June in the Atlantic, and runs through November. During this time, hurricanes and tropical storms affect many American workplaces along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and island areas, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. Inland areas are also often affected by powerful storms that bring high winds, heavy rainfall and dangerous flooding.

With hurricane season picking up, employers and workers need to be prepared with a detailed plan before these storms make landfall to ensure that everyone stays safe.

This year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center are joining forces to promote Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 25-31. OSHA and NHC encourage employers to be aware and prepare their workers for dangerous conditions during and after hurricanes and tropical storms.

Check out OSHA’s Hurricane Preparedness and Response page for important tips and resources:

Regardless of where workplaces exist, all employers should stay aware of weather forecasts, train workers on workplace severe weather plans. They should also keep handy emergency supplies, including a battery-operated weather radio. See the preparedness section of our hurricane page for details on planning, equipment and training.
In the aftermath of storms, employers must also ensure that workers involved in response and recovery are protected from potential safety and health hazards. See the response section of our hurricane page for more detailed information.
Hurricane Sandy aftermath in New York
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York.
OSHA also has a Hurricane Sandy Cleanup and Recovery page that shares lessons learned during the 2012 superstorm, which resulted in more than 85 deaths in the U.S.

This is the third in a series of blogs this year on severe weather preparedness. The first was on general preparedness tips and the second was on flood safety. Stay tuned for more best practices on workplace safety from OSHA and NOAA!

Mandy Edens is the director of OSHA’s Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management.

Source credit: http://social.dol.gov/blog/make-a-plan-before-the-storm

Andraya Carson: If You Want Innovation and Change, You’ll Need Wave Makers

By Patti Johnson

As human beings, we are born with an interest in using our imagination and making the world better.

Think back to kindergarten, when you were full of ideas, suggestions, and questions. Many of you remember your own questions, or have a child who regularly asks, “Why?”

Why can’t trains fly? What if we had birthday cakes for dogs? Why not? That creative mind-set gradually fades as we grow up, learn what’s realistic, and apply the world’s logic. And parental exhaustion has to be a factor, too.

Many of us also slowly lose that zest for the unseen possibilities in our quest to show that we know the answer. Growing up and being part of bigger groups that we want to fit into also changes how we think. The desire for acceptance can overtake us.

Where the best ideas often come from

By design, organizations in total will always be less innovative than many of the individuals who work there. Many businesses have grown because of scalable, efficient, and repeatable processes.

As stated on Bloomberg.com, in a January 2013 article:

The disciplines of management were invented, more than a hundred years ago, to drive variety out of organizations. The goal was to excise the irregularities, in an effort to ensure conformance to work rules, quality standards, timetables, and budgets.”

Yet, the best ideas often come out of the irregularities, the new twist, or an idea that may not fit. This is where innovation begins, if we can keep the goal of efficiency in its proper place.

Companies like Cisco have taken steps to embed innovative thinking and practices throughout their business. They have created a framework for innovation by offering training, starting innovation summits across the organization, organizing innovation leadership conferences, and recognizing those who innovate. Kate O’Keeffe, leader of the Services Innovation Excellence Center at Cisco, recently said, “Our model asserts that innovation cannot be the ‘domain of the few’ but must be the ‘responsibility of the many.’ ”

Everyone has a responsibility to innovate, create, and contribute. It is not the responsibility of top leadership or the executive team alone. It’s not a feel-good move for engagement, either — though it’s that too. Instead, innovation is an essential ingredient of realizing goals and growing a vital business.

Benefits of Wave Makers

Of course, not every situation calls for making waves. In organizations, repeatable processes and efficiency are essential to many parts of the business. And, as we have referenced throughout Make Waves, an idea is not a wave. It has to have purpose and real impact to the business, organization, community, or world.

While organizations depend upon stability and repeatability to complete key processes effectively, they also need Wave Makers to create positive surges that move the group forward. Wave Makers are the ones who look for the better way, explore possibilities, see the new idea, and avoid the complacency of familiarity.

Wave Makers serve as human catalysts for change and growth. You need them.

Wave Makers bring value because they:

Spark innovation. As we discussed above, innovation comes from individuals with new and relevant ideas that will work. Every organization I know is looking for innovation, just in different ways and on different topics. Leaders can give inspiring presentations on the need to innovate and the importance for the organization’s success.
The hard part is connecting that philosophy to everyone who works there, not just the head of strategy or the chief innovation officer. Everyone has a role to play in innovation, and it takes individuals willing to step out, step up, and share their ideas.

Wave Maker Lois Melbourne, co-creator and former CEO of Aquire, shared the connection between risk and innovation and creating a culture that encourages waves: “I think it’s respect. You’ve got to respect people for taking the risk. You have to give them the ability to fail and not take a hit for their failures. Look at what worked and what didn’t and learn from both. If an organization respects outside thought then anyone can say, ‘Let’s try this.’ Encourage ‘skunk works,’ risk taking, and exploration. Fear is anti-innovation.”

Drive up performance. It is amazing what two or three Wave Makers can do to raise the performance in a group or team. Most organizations have established performance measures to quantify success. If you are an entrepreneur, these measures are very real. They represent your paycheck as well as whether you can invest in that new employee. Performance is improved when everyone involved asks, “What can I do?” “Why? Is there a better way?” or “What if?”
A few years ago, I saw the impact of a recent college graduate on a client team that had been doing their work the same way for years. She didn’t judge or criticize, but she did start a change in that team without a big campaign to do so. She started using technology to streamline and improve access to meaningful data, made suggestions on work processes once she had a full understanding of the goals, and developed new techniques for packaging information.

Her actions started to change the way the team worked, but she also raised the bar for the entire team’s performance. And, she was smart in the way she did it. She kept her focus on the work, not judgment of those who did it.

Accelerate development. Hands down, one of the best ways to accelerate your personal and professional development is working on a wave. Waves stretch us because we are taking on a challenge that hasn’t been done before.
There is no prescribed road map that tells you where to go. The experiences that I call on again and again for insights and learnings are the ones that were tied to some element of a change. Research tells us that we develop the most when in a stretch assignment or out of our comfort zone. Big changes create those opportunities.

Wave Maker Jonathan Morris, chapter president in the Young Presidents’ Organization, said that his wave changed him. He built relationships around the world, gained insights on how to collaborate and work together, and learned that traditional hierarchies can get in the way. He said that his wave made him a much better leader.

As we have discussed, waves extend beyond the boundaries of one job or role. They are aligned with bigger values that grow and build because of collaboration and interest in the change.

Waves have patterns and flow and an evolving plan. And leaders advocate for growing the skills and capabilities of those in their organizations. It’s important for you and the organization.

One of my clients has created a career plan that includes what they call “critical experiences.” These are defined as experiences that accelerate an employee’s development, increase capabilities, and, in turn, help the business. Changes can provide a critical experience across almost any type of work.

Waves are ideal for career and capability acceleration.

Shake up the status quo. If you or your leaders feel that the organization has gotten too stale or needs an influx of new ideas, then a Wave Maker can help. Is the status quo ready to be shaken? Entrepreneurs, by definition, shake up the status quo by redefining the market through a new and better product or service. Intrapreneurs can too.
Entire markets have been disrupted by a wave that eventually became a tsunami. Take the Blockbuster story. In 2011, Dish Network bought Blockbuster’s assets out of bankruptcy court for around $230 million. This is the same company that Viacom had previously paid $8.4 billion for and spun off into its own IPO.

The fall was stunning in the market at the time. But if you had watched Blockbuster closely over the previous five to seven years, signs of its downfall were there among the omens of changes to come.

There is no question that Blockbuster could have made countless decisions over a six-year period that may have turned the tide, but it didn’t. I am sure that there were individuals inside Blockbuster who saw this coming. But, for whatever reason, their voices weren’t heard or the status quo overtook them.

The need to think about the next big thing

Leaders must be intentional up front. If they want more innovation, having the right people involved is essential.

Finding Wave Makers is a core strategy to disrupt current thinking and conventional wisdom. And look at the opportunity that Reed Hastings created by experimenting with new subscription models at Netflix. It seems obvious now, but it wasn’t then.

Any new change requires debate and discussion. Yet, the status quo is the only option that is usually not debated. It’s the choice that becomes the “best” option without a decision ever being made.

Every group needs individuals thinking about the next big thing, about how to make work better and improve our quality of life. You need people who aren’t invested in the status quo.

Excerpted with permission from Make Waves: Be the One to Start Change at Work and in Life by Patti Johnson. Bibliomotion, copyright 2014.

Patti Johnson is the CEO of PeopleResults, a change and organizational development consulting firm she founded in 2004. She is the author of newly released “Make Waves: Be the One to Start Change at Work and in Life.” Patti and her team advise clients such as PepsiCo, Microsoft, 7-Eleven, Accenture, Frito-Lay and many others on creating positive change in their leaders and organizations. Previously a Senior Executive at Accenture. Patti is an instructor on change for SMU Executive Education and for the Bush Institute Women’s Initiative, as well as a keynote speaker on change and leadership.

Editor’s note: This is excerpted from the new book, Make Waves: Be the One to Start Change at Work and in Life.

For complete story see:  https://twitter.com/GAPartners/status/469662816103059456