Early Exit Interview

Early Exit Interview

OMB Control Number: XXX (Expires XX/XX/XX)

INTERVIEW GUIDE

Facilitator’s welcome, introduction, and instructions to interviewee (5 minutes)

My name is __________ and I am a ____________ with JBS International. Thank you so much for volunteering to take part in this interview. I know you are busy and appreciate you taking the time to join me for this conversation today. I also want to introduce my colleague ___________________________ who will take notes during our conversation.

Introduction

To briefly introduce you to the purpose behind this discussion, AmeriCorps has awarded a contract to JBS to evaluate the Public Health AmeriCorps program. Our conversation with you today will help AmeriCorps understand member retention in the Public Health AmeriCorps program. To help us understand member retention, we will discuss the reasons why you left the program before the end of your service term. JBS is an independent contractor, and the information JBS gathers is for the purpose of the evaluation. We will report our results in aggregate, which means that you will not be identified when the results are presented. In today’s conversation, we will ask you about the reasons why you left the Public Health AmeriCorps program before the end of your service term. This conversation will take about 30 minutes. As a requirement, we need your consent to participate in the interview.

Consent

INTERVIEWER:  Do you agree to continue with the interview?

• If respondent refuses to participate, ask why they don’t want to participate and thank them for their time. Then, end the interview.

• If respondent agrees with the interview; continue with the interview.

 

[INTERVIEWER: Ask the interviewee for permission to record the interview, explaining that recording would help accurately capture the interviewee’s responses. Ask them if recording is okay, and give them the opportunity to say yes or no. If they refuse, please do not record the interview.]

Confidentiality and Privacy

The recording and our conversation today will be kept private. The notes from the interview will not include any personally identifiable information about you. JBS will present findings in summary, not for any specific person. Please provide candid answers. If there are any questions you do not wish to answer, you do not have to answer them; however, please try to answer and be as involved as you can.

Interview Questions (20 minutes)

1. There are many reasons why AmeriCorps members may end their service early. What were the reasons or factors that made you decide not to stay with Public Health AmeriCorps until the end of your service term?

[Probe: Was your role at your host organization very different from what you expected]?

• [IF YES: In what ways was your role different from your expectations?]

  • [Probe: How influential were these differences in your decision to leave early?]

2. Can you please describe how the challenges you’ve discussed influenced your decision to leave early?

3. Is there anything AmeriCorps or your host organization could have done to encourage you to stay in Public Health AmeriCorps until the end of your service term?

[Probe: Did you speak to anyone at AmeriCorps or your host organization about the challenges we’ve discussed so far?]

[Probe: Did AmeriCorps or your host organization offer any support or resources to help you overcome those challenges?]

• [IF YES: Could you please share what they provided? What could they improve about the support or resources they provided?]

• [IF NO: Is there something AmeriCorps or your host organization could have offered to alleviate those challenges?]

4. Do you think some of the factors that influenced your decision to leave early could influence other members to leave early?

[Probe: Do you know of any other members who left Public Health AmeriCorps early before completing their service term?

• [IF YES: What were the reasons those other members left early?]

Wrap-Up Question (5 minutes)

1. Is there anything else you would like to share with me about your Public Health AmeriCorps experience?
   
   
   

Conclusion

Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this interview! This has been very helpful. Your thoughts and opinions will be an important part of this evaluation and will help improve Public Health AmeriCorps programming. For your participation in this interview, we will send you a $40 electronic gift card.

If there is anything you would like to share with us or any concerns you have regarding this interview, you can call us at 1-800-207-0750 or email: [email protected].