Using Exit Surveys to Elicit Turnover Reasons among Behavioral Health Employees for Organizational Interventions

Abstract

Objective: The current study explored turnover reasons via exit surveys for organizational interventions. Methods: The exit surveys were conducted at a community behavioral health organization for over a year, and the open-ended question responses on turnover reasons were analyzed. Results: Thirty-five exit surveys were returned (58% response rate). Five major turnover themes were identified: struggles in current job roles, negative experiences with upper management and senior colleagues, quality of care concerns, no foreseeable future, and personal/family reasons. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Exit surveys are a useful approach to identify turnover reasons for organizational interventions. The findings provide insights into contextualized strategies for retaining the behavioral health workforce.