Using exit surveys to elicit turnover reasons among behavioral health employees for organizational interventions

The present study explored turnover reasons via exit surveys for organizational interventions.

The exit surveys were conducted at a community behavioral health organization for over a year, and the open-ended question responses on turnover reasons were analyzed.

Thirty-five exit surveys were returned (58% response rate). Five major turnover themes were identified: struggles in current job roles, negative experiences with upper management and senior colleagues, quality of care concerns, no foreseeable future, and personal/family reasons.

Exit surveys are a useful approach to identify turnover reasons for organizational interventions. The findings provide insights into contextualized strategies for retaining the behavioral health workforce. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).