January 6, 2006
Exit Interviews
Everyone agrees that exit interviews are valuable. Employees tend to be more candid on the way out and the interview leaves them (hopefully) with a positive impression of the firm. But, like so many important task on the HR department’s plate, the interviews often get shoved aside to accommodate the crisis de jour. And the window of time for an exit interview is small because once the employee is gone, it is awkward to make contact. The problem, of course, is that erstwhile employees don’t want to burn bridges and rarely provide true insight into their experiences.
That’s why a number of law firm HR departments have embraced using web-based surveys to replace exit interviews. The results can be tabulated anonymously, they don’t require any management time and remove any interviewer bias from the process. Unfortunately, most law firms we talked to have been less than satisfied with the on-line exit interviews. The greatest difficulty is that the response rate tends to be below 20 percent and those who do respond have a higher likelihood having had an extremely negative or positive experience with the firm. A study of employees who failed to respond to the exit interview indicated that, even though the questionnaire was anonymous, they feared reprisals if they responded honestly.
A new middle ground has been created. Outsourced exit interviews. A live interviewer calls the terminating employee and asks the questions on the firm’s behalf. One such provider is Wachenhut (http://www.ci-wackenhut.com/Anything2Say.htm) where a live interviewer will ask terminating employees your list of questions by telephone and report and analysis results.
Legal Resource Group has developed a brief white paper on Exit Interviewing including a list of questions you may consider asking. To request a free copy, contact us at 1-800-688-4147 or by email at bob@LRGLLC.com. Avian Flu Threat
Law firms are starting to field a lot of questions from employees who, stirred by news coverage, are concerned about the firm’s plans to prepare for a pandemic. Unfortunately, there has been little advice to HR departments on what constitutes a "measured response." Here are some steps you may want to take:
· Prepare for absenteeism - If a pandemic occurs, businesses should plan for about 50% employee absenteeism for at least two weeks.
· Establish a communication plan so employees can maintain contact with management and each other. Consider creating a special website.
· Encourage employees to store food, water and other supplies to reduce the need to leave home – at least enough for a two week period. Establish a detailed telecommuting strategy – Technology will permit employees to continue work from their home or other remote location.
· If the firm has offices abroad, particularly in China and Southeast Asia, plan on local business closures, quarantines and transportation restrictions.
· Plan on enforcing a quarantine of affected employees. Employees exposed to avian influenza should be encouraged to stay home for at least 8 days before returning to the office.
· Establish a vaccination plan even if vaccine and/or treatment may not be quickly available.
· Run a test of the firm’s plan before a pandemic occurs.
For further information check the following websites:
Center for Disease Control (CDC) www.cdc.gov/business features excellent resources on their home page,particularly their "Business Planning Checklist."
US Federal Government, www.pandemicflu.gov has specif recommendations for workers and a "Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist."
World Health Organization (WHO) maintains an up-to-date "Influenza pandemic threat: current situation" site www.who.int/en. Legal Resource Group LLC specializes in serving the executive and administrative recruiting needs of law firms. We maintain the largest data base of law firm executive and Administrative staff in the world. This allows us to immediately identify the very best candidates. We find the best people, complete searches faster and have extremely reasonable fees. For further information, visit our website at www.LRGLLC.com , contact us by e-mail at inquiries@LRGLLC.com or by phone at 1-800-688-4147.
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