Exit interviews – “there may be gold in them thar hills!”
School leaders occasionally call us to discuss the merits of holding exit interviews, particularly when they’ve been asked by a departing member of staff to have one – here’s why you may consider introducing the practice of holding exit interviews at your school.
Good practice
- It shows the school is listening to staff
- Offer a face-to-face or an online exit interview to everyone, those employed on full-time, part-time and fixed-term contracts
- If you wish to retain a member of staff, act quickly to see if they can be persuaded to stay
- Ask a neutral and suitably trained line manager to conduct the interview, so the member of staff has confidence in the process
- Reassure the member of staff that the information acquired throughout the discussion is confidential, and explain the purpose for which it will be used
- To put them at ease, tell the member of staff you will be asking them a series of structured questions under headings relevant to their employment
- Ask the member of staff to expand on the reasons why they are leaving your school
- Listen, but don’t react – you may not entirely agree with the member of staff’s reasoning, but the job of the interviewer is to listen, probe and understand, not judge
- Be positive – tell the member of staff you value their input, their time at the school and you respect their reasons for leaving
- Act on exit interview evidence – feedback you choose to act on will be valued by staff that remain at the school and instil faith in the process.
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