"Whew. That lame-oh adjuster just left. He couldn't pull his weight and caused everyone else to shoulder more work. Good riddance."

Hold on, though. Let's think about this. A 22-year claim expert departed last week, and that represents a huge loss for both the department and company. He was a real crackerjack but took a job elsewhere that he said paid him more money and offered more advancement chances.

Whether the dearly departed was the weakest link or a strong performer, both departing workers share a common thread: an exit interview. These are usually conducted by the human resources department. Here are eight ways for the claim department or office to become a learning organization by deftly handling the exit interview process:

Don't blow it off. If you forgo conducting exit interviews, then you lose a valuable source of "intel" about your company. At the threshold of leaving a company, many departing employees feel they have little to lose and will therefore be brutally candid. Sure, you may not like the feedback you hear. In fact, you may violently disagree with it. Like client surveys, though, you are better off hearing it than thinking that everything in your workplace is hunky-dory, and that no one on the way out has anything worthy to say.

Don't have the employee's supervisor conduct it. The amount of likely baggage can create a combustible mix. The supervisor is too close to the situation. Moreover, the departing employee is not inclined to be candid if he is expected to give feedback that reflects on the very person steering the exit interview. Instead, arrange for a human resource director or manager to conduct the exchange. That way, the departing adjuster will likely feel comfortable and will be open to offering feedback, which the claim department needs to hear — regardless of whether it likes it or not, whether it agrees with the feedback or not. So, give the supervisor a pass; relieve him of the chore of conducting the exit interview.

Mail a questionnaire in lieu of an in-person survey. Some people are more comfortable being candid on paper. We will say things in writing that we never would face to face. Just look at some e-mail exchanges, for example, as evidence of this rationale. To get the straight scoop about why an adjuster left or how employees perceive work conditions, consider offering a postage-paid questionnaire for the ex-employee to complete and then mail back. Include not only fill-in-the-blank questions but also space for the person to write in some narrative, if desired.

Don't have it on the employee's last day. Chances are, the employee is anxious to leave. He may also be in a state of emotional turmoil. Whether the departure is for good reasons, such as finding a better job, or for more awkward reasons — termination because of poor performance — leaving a work site can bring a cauldron of strong emotions to a boil. This emotional state and general eagerness to leave may not produce clear thinking or, frankly, the most useful feedback. Thus, consider conducting the exit interview a few days in advance of the actual exit.

Ask open-ended questions. The exit interview is likely not the place for "yes" or "no" questions. You want to ascertain what the company does well versus what it does not do so well and identify possible areas of improvement. When managed right, exit interviews can provide valuable "intel" to a claim department or a claim staff. If the same factors emerge as recurring themes in why people leave — for example, low pay, unrealistic workloads, or perhaps Bob the supervisor is a jerk — then that feedback may merit careful attention. Armed with these insights, the company can improve employee retention by revisiting compensation, rationalizing caseload, or shipping Bob off to Charm School, or perhaps just shipping him off, period.

Capture the feedback. The employee conducting the exit interview should make notes. If he is not able to jot down pertinent information in real time during the exchange, then he should do so promptly thereafter before memories fade. Do not edit. Just record the departing employee's comments. There is no way to learn from the experience if the organization lacks a capture system.

Have a mechanism for weighing and sharing feedback. Similarly, there is little point in conducting exit interviews if the company or department does nothing with them: tosses notes in a file; pitches them in the trash bin; or renders them mere "credenza decoration." Do more than just go through the motions. Do not offer exit interviews just so the company can check it off a list and be done with it. Someone in the organization or department should step back, reflect, and decide what — if anything — needs to be done with the feedback. It may need to be shared with the supervisor. It may require action on the part of human resources. It might point to a staffing or case-handling procedure that merits revisiting. The point is to reflect and act upon anything that should be addressed based on exit interview feedback.

Don't discount it just because of the source. It is tempting to marginalize the feedback of a departing adjuster. Bosses may characterize uncomfortable feedback as sour grapes, a rant from malcontents, or the opinions of nincompoops. This would be a mistake. One adjuster may leave, citing better pay and advancement opportunities elsewhere. Maybe an appraiser resigns because he says the workload and service standards were unrealistic. Another adjuster may quit because a co-worker or supervisor was allegedly trying to hit on her.

Companies ignore such feedback at their peril. The peril could be higher turnover, failure to retain good employees, or even vulnerability to sexual harassment and employment practice liability claims. Each morsel of feedback warrants exploration, investigation, and evaluation. In some cases, the company may find that the feedback lacks merit. In other cases, exit interviews can provide a wake-up call to the claim department or the office.

Vetting Interviewers

So who should conduct the exit interview? Certainly not the supervisor of the departing employee. Ideally, a trained human resource professional should perform the exit interview. This person can be more objective, less emotional, and can more dispassionately process the feedback. Further, observations from a departing employee may create a list of "action items" for which human resources can follow up. These points might resemble the following:

  • Reassess pay scales vis a vis other employers in the area
  • Determine any trends or common themes in feedback from departing employees
  • Reassess caseloads and workloads for adequacy and potential staffing needs
  • Re-evaluate quality of work-life issues
  • Determine if management needs training on employment practices do's and don'ts

These are just a few examples. Consider these eight strategies as a way to "mine for gold" during exit interviews. What you learn may offer a roadmap for improvement in some cases, giving your claim operation a competitive advantage in talent recruitment and retention.

Kevin Quinley is an insurance claim expert and author. He can be reached at kquinley@cox.net. Visit his blog, The Claims Coach, at http://claimscoach.blogspot.com.

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