When good employees leave it is not only a loss in terms of time, effort and all the cost associated with finding a suitable replacement but it is also the loss of losing unique knowledge and experience specifically associated to the organization; Losing good employees is a problem where prevention is most definitely the best cure.

It is inevitable that employees will leave from time to time but a good employer will want to know why an employee has decided to leave to ensure that personnel are leaving for the right, and not the wrong, reasons.

Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well designed job satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. However, some problems, especially those that involve personalities, are not always brought to the surface until it is too late.

When personnel decide to change jobs it is very often due to a lack of career development and/or poor management. Both of these problems can be difficult to identify even for organizations that adopt regular 360-degree appraisals (i.e. where as part of the overall appraisal system, employees evaluate their managers).

While still employed employees can be very reluctant to criticize their managers for fear of reprisal; they can however be more candid when completing an employee exit survey.

Exit surveys are unlikely to prevent an individual from changing their mind and staying but what they will do is help an organization identify problem areas that if left unchecked could result in the remaining employees suffering form poor moral and further resignations.

Limited Career Development

Not all employers can offer, and nor do all employees desire, a clear and long term career path. Some people find comfort and job security in doing one job but there are just as many who prefer to be continually challenged, always acquiring new skills and steadily moving up the corporate ladder. Organizations that succeed and excel need the balance of having high flyers and steady Eddies.

Where losses due to a lack of career development are occasional they may also be inevitable, but where they are frequent, then changes to the organizational structure might need to be considered to allow for greater career development of the employees.

Poor Management

Many managers achieved their position through promotion, but it does not always follow that a good worker will automatically make a good manager and often people are assigned management position without any formal management training.

Poor managers can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, ‘I was thinking of getting rid of them anyway’ and ‘they were a waste of space’ are typical responses to being asked if there is a problem causing people to leave an organization.

It is proper and natural for senior management to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt, after all a good managers can always be slighted by poor employees. But by conducting exit surveys, if a man-management problem were to be identified early there is a good chance that it can be addressed and resolved with the appropriate formal training and guidance.

Records

It is not that unusual for a person to leave an employer and put in a claim for constructive dismissal at a later date. With ‘No win no fee’ legal representation this has become a real problem for even good employers. Exit surveys will at best, provide a valuable record of the employee’s reasons for leaving, and at worse, provide early warning that a possible claim might be expected.

A tribunal may not readily accept the word of an employer that when the employee left they did so without indicating any grievance.

Timing the exit survey

Exit surveys can be conducted as part of the termination procedures or they can, with the employee’s agreement, be delayed for a few months.

There can be an advantage in delaying an exit survey for a few months in that a former employee may be less emotional and more honest with their views and may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.

The advantages with conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure is that although emotions may be running high it is probably more reflective of the employee’s state of mind and therefore closer to the reasons they have decided to leave (justified or otherwise). If delayed any comparison between the ex-employee’s old and new roles may be the result of them putting on a brave face, and if the reasons that are given require action, the delay may have prevented the problem from being resolved.

Summary

Organizations will generally benefit in a number of different ways by including exit surveys as part of their employee termination procedures. Having good records could prove to be very valuable later and they will also provide management with information that can help them improve an organization’s moral as well as the bottom line.

See the following survey for sample exit interview questions.

The child tax credit worksheet will help you determine if you meet the necessary guidelines to receive the child tax credit. You can use the child tax credit worksheet and calculator to estimate your child tax credit. The first test will be for the dependent, he or she will have to meet some minimum requirements such as:

• Be a citizen or resident of the United States
• Be a resident of your household for at least half the year
• They will need to have a social security number

There will be a worksheet provided in the instructions for form1040, line 52 or form1040A, line 33. This worksheet will help you calculate your child tax credit amount. The amount will be up to $1,000.00 for each qualifying child. This amount will be subject to your total tax liability amount. The credit cannot exceed the amount you owe.

If the credit is greater than the amount of your liability then you may qualify for the additional child tax credit. You can calculate the child tax credit amount using form 8812. These tax credits will begin to phase out as your income exceeds certain levels. The credit will begin being reduced by $50.00 for every 1,000.00 that your income exceeds the threshold amounts.

You can get a lot of free information and help in preparing your taxes at an online tax preparing service such as TurboTax online. Using a tax preparing service will provide all of the worksheets necessary to get the most deductions and credits possible. They also will provide free tax calculators to help you find out what deductions and credit you can take.

Let TurboTax Online walk you step-by-step through this process. Please visit TurboTax Online to access the forms and to use their free tax calculator.