The sharing of honest and constructive feedback about one’s experience as a staff member may be beneficial both for the staff and for the congregation.

• For the professional, this opportunity to reflect may offer insights into one’s goals for professional development and future vocational choices, and can also help with closure by allowing the employee to form and articulate their perspective.
• For congregational leaders, the feedback can be used to strengthen the program and inform the search process for the successor.

District/regional staff may conduct exit interviews in order to collect information over time about the congregation. Exit interviews can be done through an internal congregational process and/or can be facilitated through district/regional staff. Sometimes an exit interview is a written survey and other times it is a real-time conversation.

Typically an exit interview asks the staff member about such things as:

• Their most significant accomplishments
• What has felt most fulfilling about the work
• Their disappointments and frustrations
• Working relationships with minister, board, other leaders/groups
• Status of the program upon departure
• What they will be doing next

Generally, the departing staff member is asked with whom the interview notes can be shared.