Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine (NDM): Retention

The use of exit interviews or questionnaires was strongly encouraged in order to better understand why staff left the department and to identify trends. An online questionnaire was set up first, and from 2014 onwards, face-to face interviews were conducted for all leavers, with the exception of staff overseas who were interviewed over Skype instead.
Target Group
Academic staff
Professional and support staff
Initiative Theme
Retention
Initiative institution
University of Oxford
Application type
Athena Swan Initiative
Publication date

Details of Activity

The use of exit interviews or questionnaires was strongly encouraged in order to better understand why staff left the department and to identify trends. An online questionnaire was set up first, and from 2014 onwards, face-to face interviews were conducted for all leavers, with the exception of staff overseas who were interviewed over Skype instead. Regular spot checking of HR data was also implemented to improve the accuracy of HR data stored about leavers, such as researcher profiles 'post' employment.

Outcomes

The online questionnaire gained a 30% response rate (61 responses out of 142 leavers). The department also noted improvements with regards to data accuracy based on more regular revisions of the HR guidance on data quality.