WK8 HRA DIS RES

1. Please cite scholarly articles. Use the APA template and graduate discussion rubric.

Summarize and highlight aspects of a job management description scenario that may lead/or may have led to voluntary turnover and any retention efforts that could be/could have been used to keep that employee working at the job. Address the following in detail:

In your interview, obtain the following information:

· Job title

· Brief job description

· Approximate length of time in the job

  For an Exit Interview:

· Reasons for leaving the job

· Any attempts to negotiate with the organization before leaving

  For a Stay Interview:

· Reasons for staying on the job

· Reasons the employee would consider leaving

2. RESPOND TO THE 2 PEERS BELOW: Specifically focus your responses to your peers' summaries using the following prompts:

· How do your peers' interviews compare with your own interview?

· What else could you recommend to address the turnover issue that your peers did not mention?

· Do you think your peers' recommendations for retention are realistic? Will they help to decrease the potential for turnover? Why or why not?

2A.

Voluntary Post-Exit Interview

   Good Morning. Today, I am interviewing a close friend and soon-to-be co-worker again. For her privacy, we are going to call her Sarah. Sarah and I worked together at the largest high school in Hillsborough County, where she was the student affairs secretary.  

High School Student Affairs Secretary

According to the Secretary 1 position job description dated August 1, 2018, from Hillsborough County Public School (HCPS) website, Secretary 1 is responsible for general correspondence, answering phones, filing, typing, greeting parents and students, and performing other clerical duties as needed.        

The Secretary of Student Affairs actually conducts sign-ins and sign-outs, updates all substitute attendance rosters, hang tags, lockers, call logs, excused notes, testing slips, lock-out drills, student drop-off items, dress code violations, administrative disciplinary action correspondence, distributes all administrative and teacher mail, and handles all other student-related matters for the administrative staff and principal. 

Interview

As our Module 8 reading stated, voluntary turnover can be avoidable or unavoidable. In Sarah's case, it is interesting to see if her supervisors could have influenced her reason for leaving or if it was out of their control. I will let you decide.

The interview questions were:

1. What brought you to us, and how long have you worked here?

I moved here from Buffalo, New York when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. My husband and I retired here, and I wanted a job with summers and holidays off, so I interviewed for the job and have been here for 3 years.  

2. Explain what caused you to leave?

When I first came to the school, we had both middle school and high school students, so we allocated additional administrative principals (APs), success coaches, counselors, and staff to assist with around 3,000 students. The three-year phase-out of the middle school ended in 2022, with an enrollment of around 3,400 students. Last year was the first year with only high schoolers, and we have grown to 3,800 students with less staff support. The increased student volume, fewer administrative personnel, and weak county, school district, and internal policies are causing me to leave. The boiling point for me was when a 14-year-old boy was arrested for having a firearm on campus, and only a month later, another boy was arrested for having a firearm (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, 2025). This is coupled with multiple fights and no longer feeling safe at my place of work.

3. What measures could have helped to prevent you from leaving?

I by no means blame the good staff and teachers I work with; they have to work with the people they are given on top of all the current vacancies (many teachers left after COVID-19 to other careers). Florida currently has a Fortify FL system that allows any staff member or student to report suspicious activity on an app. All staff also have Centegix badges that can activate a signal from anywhere on campus if we see a threat. These are reactive measures, not proactive measures.

I believe stronger laws and policies to support the school in taking preventive approaches, such as the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act, would help. The SAVE Act promotes safe learning environments where students and teachers work collaboratively with codes of conduct, school safety plans, and school violence prevention and intervention (New York State Education Department, 2025). 

Another effective tool is ensuring there is an updated employee handbook. Having written standards and policies lets employees know what is tolerated and what is not to minimize lousy behavior (Kaus, 2008). 

4. Were you provided with any negotiations before departing?

In my current place of employment, I was not. However, I interviewed and was selected to work at a different high school with a smaller student population and a more secure campus layout.  

An astounding 42% of employees who voluntarily left their organization in the past year reported that their supervisor or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving the job (Tatel & Wigert, 2024, para 4).

Summary

Exit interviews are a great way to understand and try to resolve turnover rates. Turnover becomes a serious problem when a talent gap impacts the organization's ability to execute its business strategy and operate effectively (Kochanski & Sorensen, 2008). 

As described in our Module 8 reading, every human resource (HR) function should have retention as its primary goal. In Sarah's case, she left for intrinsic rewards (a safe working environment), not extrinsic rewards such as pay or bonuses. The hard part is that intrinsic rewards require more effort from supervisors and leadership and are sometimes impossible if you do not have enough supervisors to conduct day-to-day operations, as in this case.   

References

Hillsborough County Public School (n.d.). Secretary 1. Job Descriptions.  https://www2.sdhc.k12.fl.us/jobdescrs/PDF/50110_Secretary_1_080118.pdf

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (2025, January 30). Arrests. Public Affairs Office.  https://teamhcso.com/News/PressRelease/ffc301d2-a46f-4982-9c8e-d1886b0e85ef/en-US

Kaus, D. S. (2008). Bad Behavior.  Las Vegas Business Press (10712186),  25(48), P24–P25.

Kochanski, J., & Sorensen, A. (2008). Turning Around Employee Turnover.  Financial Executive,  24(5), 28–31.  https://research-ebsco-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/c/vvcvry/viewer/pdf/pqb6f7snvv?route=details

New York State Education Department (2025). The Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE). Student Support Services.  https://www.nysed.gov/student-support-services/safe-schools-against-violence-education-act-save

Tatel, C. & Wigert, B. (2024, July 10). 42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable but Often Ignored.  Gallup.  https://www.gallup.com/workplace/646538/employee-turnover-preventable-often-ignored.aspx

1B.

An interview was conducted with a manager of marketing, communications, and community development at a local Medicaid managed care organization. This individual has been with the organization for seven years, and their current role encompasses managing the various communications that are developed and distributed throughout the community. They are also responsible for developing and implementing the marketing plan, ensuring budget adherence, and collaborating with other departments to drive quality improvement and population health initiatives.

In conducting the stay interview, the interviewee emphasized that one of the main reasons for staying on this job is the benefits that the organization offers. The organization offers health benefits, including insurance plans that are cheaper than many of the alternatives. For example, the interviewee stated that they actually turned down a job that came with a higher salary because the health benefits were substantially less than what she was currently receiving, and she would have essentially been paying hundreds of extra dollars per month. Along with that, the employee also stated that they have remained with the company because the organization is highly flexible, as the employee works remotely and can easily organize her schedule in a way that accommodates her family life, such as blocking off her calendar in the afternoon so she can pick her child up from the bus stop. She also stated that she enjoys her coworkers and values the culture of the organization as a whole. When asked about reasons the employee may consider leaving, she indicated that she may leave if offered a better opportunity with a comparable salary with similar health benefits, so long as that opportunity came with significant potential for advancement.

At this organization, it is clear that employee retainment is prioritized, especially through a strong organizational culture inside of values that keep employees feeling acknowledged, appreciated, and respected. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to remain with an organization (Rogers & Ashforth, 2017). The employee also indicated that she enjoyed the flexibility of her job, which is especially important for working parents, as per Eek and Axmon (2013). Finally, this interview helped emphasize the fact that salary alone is often not enough to retain employees. A total rewards package that includes a variety of benefits, such as good health coverage, paid time off, professional development opportunities, and similar are all necessary to keep employees feeling valued and motivated (Cafaro, 2021). 

References

Cafaro, D. (Ed.). (2021). The World-at-Work Handbook of Total Rewards: A Comprehensive Guide to Compensation, Benefits, HR & Employee Engagement. John Wiley & Sons.

Eek, F., & Axmon, A. (2013). Attitude and flexibility are the most important work place factors for working parents’ mental wellbeing, stress, and work engagement. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 41(7), 692-705.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494813491167

Rogers, K. M., & Ashforth, B. E. (2017). Respect in organizations: Feeling valued as “we” and “me”. Journal of Management, 43(5), 1578-1608.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314557159