Narrative-based Exit Interviews

Exit interviews form an essential part of the reporting function of HR. It is from these interviews that we find out why people leave our organizations, and it is through these insights that we are able to proverbially feel the pulse of what is happening in our organizations. Traditionally, exit interviews simply cover the basics of why a person is leaving (i.e. resignation, disciplinary process, etc) and it is this information that informs the staff turnover reporting figures.

Narrative-based Exit Interviews are a form of exit interviews that borrow from narrative techniques and aim to gather a richer, deeper, more contextual form of information from the person exiting than the traditional exit interview process. This is what narratives do – they are high touch, concept and context: they allow people to connect emotionally with the process; they carry within them a high degree of information and they carry with them
vital information regarding context. Through augmenting existing process, Narrative-based Exit Interviews will harvest narratives from the employee relating to actual experiences within the business that provide a organizational cultural diagnostic. This diagnostic is imperative when one considers how to reduce levels of turnover and to create a culture of retention.

And so, Narrative-based Exit Interviews becomes an integral reporting function that provides decision-makers with critical information regarding retention issues within an organization that allow the decision-makers to make sense of the turnover dynamics and to respond in the most contextually relevant manner.

Narrative-based Exit Interviews are priced at R4, 500 (ex VAT) per Exit Interview conducted. The one-hour Interview will be facilitated by a Narrative Facilitator (having an external person conduct the interview often alleviates the defensiveness exhibited by most exiting employees) where narratives will be harvested. In addition, having an external person conduct the process also eases some pressure on already stretched HR departments. These narratives are then transcribed and entered into a Narrative Database where they
are tagged and indexed according to two parameters: 1 – the emergent information within the narratives, and 2 – the indexes the organization wishes to monitor. Once sufficient data is gathered, relevant reports are produced based on the narrative database (these reports are not static, and are customizable to the clients needs). There is a once-off Narrative Database setup fee of R20, 000 (ex VAT).