NCJ Number
217762
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 69 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 30-32
Date Published
February 2007
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the evaluation, redesign, and testing of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services' (DCS's) exit interview process for personnel who are leaving DCS employment.
Abstract
Exit interviews are important for any organization, because they can assist in identifying agency characteristics and policies that lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnover. The DCS contracted with the Center for Applied Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to evaluate the reasons for personnel voluntarily leaving their jobs. CAPS identified several problems in the exit interview system that may have limited DCS's ability to identify reasons employees' decided to leave. CAPS created a new exit interview that consisted of ratings of 54 statements that assessed employee perceptions of various aspects of work and written responses to three openended questions. Statements were grouped by subscale: the job itself, limited opportunity for growth/advancement, supervisor/management, problems with people, wages and benefits, working conditions, company policies and practices, and personal reasons. Each subscale included more specific reasons for leaving, so that results would indicate particular areas in need of improvement in order to reduce turnover. Since the creation of the new exit interview, 219 employees who left the department between January 2003 and February 2006 have completed it either by phone or mail. The most frequently selected statement about what influenced the employee's decision to leave was "poor process for resolving concerns/complaints," followed by "discrepancy between policies and behaviors," "lack of clear and consistent communication," "too little recognition for achievement," and "not a family- or employee-friendly department." DCS began to address these issues through a leadership development program that addressed communication and interaction between supervisors and employees. The department also expanded its conflict resolution program. This article provides a detailed description of the 3-year leadership program. 4 endnotes