Mining the good from the goodbyes

Abstract

Purpose -This case study seeks to demonstrate how to re-engage talented employees after they have left an organization. The ''Green Room'' is a facilitated process that moves beyond a simple employee exit survey approach to build rapport that supports not only re-engagement, but also the identification and actioning of critical push and pull factors at play within an organization. This enables it to develop and strengthen its employee value proposition and its positioning as an employer of choice.Design/methodology/approach -The process builds from a customized and structured questionnaire, facilitated by the use of a third party agency to encourage perceived neutrality and drive up reliability of information. The process also provides exited staff with networking opportunities, coaching and access to thought leadership in their industry and sector, providing opportunities for personal development regardless of their final re-engagement decision.Findings -Through the provision of confidentiality and skilled third party practitioners, the Green Room process not only leads to the successful return of a percentage of previously departed key talent, but informs an organization's talent management, recruitment and retention strategies and practices, and can significantly reduce attrition rates.Originality/value -Highly cost effective, this integrated process provides other significant benefits over traditional exit survey practices, including the development of dynamic databases that can drive and guide process and procedural changes that are informed by genuine, rather than perceived, areas for action with regard to the push and pull factors that are influencing both recruitment and talent retention.

Losing the rural nursing workforce: Lessons learnt from resigning nurses

“…16,17 However, previous research also indicates that data collected from exit surveys or exit interviews can be skewed due to several factors. Employees often do not want to leave on a bad note and their reasons for resigning might not be entirely truthful; the organisation might seek to prove that they have done nothing wrong; or exit surveys are performed when the departing employee still has emotional engagement, which is often negative.…”

“…While the literature discusses the importance of exit surveys and exit interviews 16,17 and what leads to nurse job dissatisfaction (see for e.g. [18][19][20][21][22], the period between formally submitting a resignation notice to an employer and the last day of employment has not been previously discussed.…”