Joint Board Matter With Supervisor Gross

October 30, 2012

Asking Staff to Study the Commencement of an “Exit Interview” Process for County Employees

Madame Chairman:

Our employees state openly and often how proud they are to work for Fairfax County, and we certainly are fortunate to have such a dedicated workforce.  We, in turn, seek their input into our budget process and other county policies.  I/We think we should also seek their input into county working conditions and compensation through exit interviews of departing employees.

Commonly done in the private sector, exit interviews can provide invaluable insight into the County’s strengths and weaknesses from a unique and very important perspective. And when done in a comprehensive and standard fashion Exit Interviews can provide actionable data that can help increase employee retention, correct mistakes, or further improve areas in which management already excels.  The idea would be to ask departing employees why they are leaving, to give a recap of their employment experience, and to provide their views of the “best and worst” of County employment.  Interviews would be standardized and private, with compiled data reported to the Board of Supervisors on an annual basis. 

Therefore, we would ask the Board to direct staff to develop an outline of an Exit Interview process for Board discussion at a future Personnel Committee meeting.