Ministry Strategy 201, Class 7

The Strategy of Exit Interviews

Guest Lecturer

Bill Hendricks is President of The Giftedness Center, a Dallas-based consulting firm specializing in organizational design and strategic people management. He is the author or co-author of 22 books, including Your Work Matters to God, The Power of Uniqueness, and his just-released title, The Person Called YOU: Why You’re Here, Why You Matter & What You Should Do With Your Life.

Class 7—The Strategy of Exit Interviews

This class explores what pastors have learned from Bill and the exit interview process.

In 1993, Bill wrote Exit Interviews: Revealing Stories of Why People Are Leaving the Church. What lessons can XPastors learn from disillusioned Christians? How can a church use a strategy of exit interviews to help close its “back doors” and avoid the very common phenomenon of constantly seeing new people, but not growing.

The Strategy of Exit Interviews

The strategy of exit interviews The strategy of, “What did we do wrong?” The strategy of closing the “back door.”

Background

The background of Exit Interviews. Mostly deals with a subset of churches – the

megachurch

Why not?

Why do churches not conduct exit interviews? Fear Negative “Who cares about losing people if we’re

growing?” Never thought about it

Purpose

The purpose of the church is people-development. Ephesians 4:12-13 Making people into actual followers of Christ Great Commission is about discipleship =

evangelism + training in Christlikeness

Priority

Growth in Christ takes priority over growth in numbers.

The Body

The church is a body. The whole body needs to grow. We need every members’ contribution. When one suffers we all suffer.

What’s Wrong

Exit interviews is a strategy for figuring out, “What’s wrong?” Conducting exit interviews Analyzing exit interviews Responding to exit interviews

Buy-in

Conducting exit interviews Secure buy-in from the decision-makers

Methods

Conducting exit interviews Use a neutral party who is gifted to the task. Develop trust and a comfort level. Explain the purpose, ensure understanding.

Methods

Conducting exit interviews Guarantee confidentiality. Recording / notes – explain purpose, guarantee

eventual erasure / shredding

Dig for Reasons

Conducting exit interviews Let the person tell their story. Stories always reveal more than surveys. Listen and ask questions. Period. Stay neutral, make no judgments, take no sides. Distinguish between excuses and reasons – dig for

reasons. Recognize the interviewee has a lot of feelings.

Leave the Door Open

Conducting exit interviews Leave the door open and don’t burn any bridges. Accusations of actual wrongdoing – consider legal

and moral/ethical obligations and responsibilities Ask: “Is there anything the church can do for you

at this point?” Thank the interviewee for their time and candor.

Interpreting

Interpreting exit interviews Evaluate individual interviews in light of all other

interviews. Look for trends. Ponder outliers. Look for new or unexpected factors and

information.

Interpreting

Interpreting exit interviews What’s the big picture that emerges? Summarize your conclusions. Make no direct attributions. Develop periodic reports for leaders to evaluate. Keep your mouth shut.

Responding

Responding to exit interviews Prepare for evaluation through prayer. Expect a “bad” review. Expect to uncover

problems. See through the eyes of your former “customers.”

Benchmarks

Responding to exit interviews How do the findings compare with positive data? Benchmark the findings against your church’s

mission, vision, values, and strategy. Is this to be expected? Is this an indicator we are not meeting our objectives?

Defining Issues

Responding to exit interviews Face clear evidence of a problem. It is what it is. What might be the cause?

Responsibility vs. blame / shame

What are you going to do about it? Who will lead the charge in addressing it? What indicator(s) will show that the problem is

being turned around?

Big Picture

Responding to exit interviews Look at the big picture – what do the findings say

about your church and where it stands? Pray for ongoing discernment and insight.

Expectations

One strategy for avoiding negative exit interviews Learn more about who is coming in the front door

and why = their real expectations. Articulate the church’s value proposition from the

outset. A strong brand Calibrating expectations Mark 8:34

To contact Bill Hendricks

billh@thegiftednesscenter.com

www.thegiftednesscenter.com