Can Exit Interviews Help Understand Why Students Transfer Schools? Seeking Advice

Dear all seniors,

Firstly, I would like to greet you all and extend the best wishes for the new year.

I have a query regarding exit interviews. I understand that this process is conducted for organizational purposes to gather feedback from employees who intend to leave their jobs. However, I am unsure if exit interviews can be conducted with students who wish to transfer from our school to another institution, or vice versa.

I am currently working as a management trainee in a school in Hyderabad. My goal is to increase the school's enrollment and understand the reasons behind any student dropouts, if applicable. I would appreciate your assistance in this matter. Please suggest any materials that could provide me with more knowledge on this topic.

Thank you.

One basic principle in management of people is, "Employees join an organization and they leave their managers." Exit interviews are used to understand why an employee decided to leave a company, and many companies conduct this either on the last day of the employee leaving or after their F&F is closed. As an HR professional, I do not advise this. It's like conducting a postmortem to know the cause of the death. You need to take an approach which will avoid this death happening itself. The method of Appreciative Inquiry will help you to take a different approach.

Instead of focusing on people who leave you, focus on the value that you have created for the people who have stayed with you and grown with you by continuing their association. Project that as a success story, which will change the minds of people. Some of the immediate things that you can do:

1. Do a survey on the values of the school and publish it.
2. Create success stories.
3. Publish interviews with parents.
4. Publish students' photos all over the school.
5. Talk about the individual achievements.
6. Create practices that are very successful and processes that can evolve themselves instead of something that will die once you leave them.
7. Publish articles in local newspapers about this school.
8. Ask successful alumni to come back and talk to senior students.
9. Involve parents in all your activities.
10. Vote for the most favorite teacher, etc.

Hope this will be useful to you.

Regards

Thank you for the quick reply. It is so useful to me. Your suggestion for concentrating on the one who sticks with the organization/institution is excellent, and I will definitely keep concentrating the way you suggest.

Could you please give me detailed suggestions, especially regarding the values you have mentioned here? Also, about creating success stories...

Hi Rangu,

This is the right choice of every true HR practitioner. Building a competent workforce through constantly refining the people management process is the essence of Human Resources Management.

Dear Eminent Learners,

New Year Greetings to you all!

One of my closest friend's sons is 18 years old. He is so adamant, not taking proper food at home, not respecting the elders, talking to elders in a high tone, and using filthy language. He has started drinking and smoking too. He is helping his friends with love affairs, and their parents have come to his house, causing problems. He does not want to pick up a book and study even a single line. My friend and her husband are well-qualified, and humbly they have told their son not to behave this way in a polite manner.

Please guide me properly. Maybe you can take this as a case study, analyze it, and guide me on how to solve the problem, please. :confused::confused::confused:

Hi,

According to me, if an employee is shifting, then many times money is the factor, or a challenging role, or a location. But if a child is changing schools, many times money is not the factor. So, from an old school point of view, it is very important to know what extra or what kind of value-added education is given by the new school.

In my opinion, you can conduct an exit interview with parents because they are the ones who are decision-makers. Of course, the approach will make a lot of difference while conducting interviews. If you take their suggestions as feedback rather than complaints, I am sure it will help the school. You will get answers on what you need to improve on.

That's my opinion as an HR person and as a parent.

Aparna Sethi