January 15, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Organization: PRS, formerly Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (McLean, Va.)
Number of employees: 63
The group’s approach: The organization, which helps find jobs, housing, and other services for people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or addiction problems, checks in with all new employees after they have been on the job for three months.
Why: The procedure helps identify potential problems, such as a conflict with a supervisor or a mismatch between a job description and the actual duties, before the issues become bigger. The idea of conducting “entrance” interviews came when PRS officials realized that the information they learned in exit interviews with departing employees would have been far more valuable if they had known it sooner.
Results: Besides helping to avert problems early on, the interviews have led to an environment where employees feel they can be open and honest about their concerns, says Wendy Gradison, the charity’s chief executive: “Sometimes we will just agree to disagree, but at least let’s get to the point in the conversation where we understand where the road diverges.”
