.png)
The Exit Interview
The exit interview is intended to summarize inspection findings to the applicant and inspectors must manage expectations during the meeting.
Components of an exit interview include:
-
Conducting the Exit Interview
-
Opening the Exit Interview
-
Presenting Your Findings
-
Closing the Exit Interview
_edited.png)
Conducting the Exit Interview
The exit interview is intended to summarize inspection findings to the applicant. Inspectors must use caution during this meeting. An accreditation decision cannot be implied, nor can citations be stated with certainty that they will be included in the final inspection report.
Remember the FACT inspection and accreditation process has several layers of oversight to ensure consistency and objectivity, and changes may be made to the inspection report between the on-site inspection and accreditation decision.
The team leader may choose to meet with the director privately to apprise him/her of the inspection team’s findings. These meetings are often reserved for situations in which serious deficiencies have been noted. The director may elect to hold a meeting with some or all staff to share this information. This is permissible; however, some institutions require more than one staff member and/or a quality professional be present at all times during the inspection. This policy, when present, must be honored by the inspector.
As stated above, personnel attendance at the exit interview is at the discretion of the director. Some may request only key personnel be present, while some may request institutional leadership or staff-level employees to attend.
_edited.png){kind=small}
Opening the Exit Interview
The exit interview should begin with the team leader thanking the applicant personnel for accommodating the inspection and for their time and effort. An appropriate way to recognize an organization’s hard work is, “Thank you for your hospitality over these last two days. We realize how much work it has been to prepare for this on-site inspection and accommodate all our requests.”
Take the time to provide a short introduction. It is helpful to the applicant to state the purpose of the exit interview and provide a short agenda. For example, inspectors may say, “The purpose of this closing interview is to summarize our major observations. Much of this has been described to you throughout the inspection. Remember this is a summary. Each of us will speak about the area we inspected, and then we will review the next steps and offer you an opportunity to ask any remaining questions.”
It is important to be constructive but realistic during the exit interview. Explain what will happen after the inspection and when feedback is likely to be received. Each inspector then reviews his/her assigned area. Achieving this balance can be very difficult. Try to indicate areas where there was clear excellence or noncompliance.
_edited.png)
Presenting Your Findings
Begin with positive findings by mentioning where the applicant has performed well. “I have enjoyed working with each of you. I appreciate that you shared several great ideas I can take back to my own organization, especially (be specific)…”
Point out major areas of deficiency if you are certain they are in clear violation of the Standards. “There are three major issues I will discuss related to the areas I inspected. The other inspectors will describe their observations from the other sites.” Providing specific standards can be helpful. Describe other general concerns you will share with the Accreditation Committee to ensure there are no surprises.
_edited.png){kind=small}
Closing the Exit Interview
Describe the next steps of the accreditation process. Remind the applicant that the Accreditation Committee will review the report and citations may be modified; no immediate changes should be made by the program. The importance of this cannot be understated. These points can be summarized as, “Our reports will be summarized for the Accreditation Committee by the FACT Coordinator. The Accreditation Committee generally meets monthly; therefore, you should not expect to hear from FACT for 6-8 weeks. I suggest you not make any changes until you receive your final report. The report will include a timeline for you to follow in preparing and documenting any required changes."
Allow the applicant to ask questions, but maintain control of the session. Do not allow this to go on too long or become an argument. Finally, leave the inspection on a positive note. Remember you must not indicate whether the applicant is likely to achieve a particular accreditation outcome, or what your recommendation will be.
