For some time, I’ve been looking for one “source” that curates modern takes on HR Tech, perspectives from the people who build it, and its impact on enterprise — something that’s tailor-made by professionals for decision-makers.
I never found it — so I decided to build it.
Every week, I’ll be sharing fresh insights on tech platforms, design, data, and the future of work — straight to your inbox.
My Thoughts
This week marks the one-year anniversary of Exit Interview! 🎉 🙆
I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped make this journey possible, and want to extend a huge thanks to all of you and to my colleagues at SEI. Without your partnership and dedication to this newsletter — and to our industry as a whole — none of this would have been possible. 💙
I’ve learned quite a lot over the past year, and hope that sharing my insights will help you start the new year off on the right foot:
Consistency is critical to success. Outwardly, consistency communicates that you can be trusted. But practicing consistency also made me feel more successful and fulfilled at work. Writing Exit interview was a high note to look forward to at the end of the week, and it served as a reminder that, even if nothing seemed to go right that week, I love what I do and am very grateful for that. 👍
You can (and should) make your own opportunities. No one told me to start a newsletter. It’s not part of a client scope or an assignment from a manager. Exit Interview was created because I saw an opportunity to connect with people, talk about the things that I love, and create a much-needed resource for thought leaders — and it’s paid off a hundred times over. 💯 Exit Interview has sparked conversations with old contacts and new, allowing me to reconnect with people who resonate with the content and form new ties to like-minded professionals.
Tap into the talent around you. Leveraging the talent and skillsets in your personal and professional network has helped make Exit Interview what it is today. From the first edition to our first guest author, I’m incredibly grateful for those around me. 👩💼 👨💻 👩💻
This week, instead of a traditional Exit Interview, we’re recapping some of the greatest hits from the year, including the top 10 reads from all 51 previous issues. Although nobody’s sure what 2022 will bring, I’m looking forward to another year of Exit Interviews. We’ll be back in January, so enjoy the holidays and have a happy new year! 😀
A Year of Growth
I never could have imagined that, in just one year, Exit Interview would grow from a passion project to a community of thought leaders more than 2,300 strong. Here’s a quick look at how much Exit Interview has expanded, thanks in no small part to all of you:
711% audience growth
39,393 total Exit Interviews sent
16,246 emails clicked
There is also growth that cannot be captured in numbers. Exit Interview has helped increase SEI’s visibility in the HR technology space and opened doors🚪 to connections we never expected.
This Year’s Best Reads
Of all the articles discussed this year, here are the ten most popular pieces 🏆:
Ending Imposter Syndrome at Work | HBR
- A follow up to HBR’s first piece on imposter syndrome that brings workplace culture, not individual personality, into question.
5 Times Ted Lasso Reminded Us What Great Leadership Looks Like | Fast Company
- A refreshing new twist on leadership advice articles from a fictional football coach.
Alteryx Unveils Global SparkED Education Program to Empower Learners of all Levels to Upskill with Data and Analytics | PR Newswire
- Alteryx announces the details of SparkED, one of the first free data analytics education and certification programs.
After 18 months, HR is burned out | CNBC
- A no-holds-barred exposé on the reality of life in human resources nearly two years after the start of the pandemic.
How to Work with All the Myers-Briggs Personality Types | Atlassian
- A walk-through of all Myers-Briggs personality types and what leaders need to know in order to build effective and positive work relationships.
It’s Time to Re-Onboard Everyone | HBR
- HBR researchers make an argument for bringing your whole team back to square one as we adjust to the new normal.
Nudging Our Way to Better Remote Work | Axios
- An HR startup takes a page from behavioral science practices to help workers adapt positive work from home habits.
Why Emotionally Intelligent People Embrace the ‘Rule of Recognition’ | Inc.
- How leaders can use the Rule of Recognition to create a culture of psychological safety and productive feedback.
Every Single Cognitive Biases graphic | Visual Capitalist
- A visual explanation of every cognitive bias that can affect how you interact and lead your teams.
Creating the Future of Work | Medium
- An overview of how workplace strategies have changed since the World Wars, and why models like the corporate waterfall are no longer worth chasing.
In So Many Words
We put every edition of Exit Interview into a word cloud generator to find out what we talked about the most this year. Here are the results. Special shoutout to “support,” which we all need a little more of these days.
What’s Coming Next
We’re looking forward to many things in the coming year. I’ll continue covering the current events, trends, and market news that those in the HR and digital transformation spaces are looking for, but there are also a few exciting additions coming to Exit Interview. 🙇
In addition to current events, there will be more in-depth thought pieces on big picture topics like welcoming Gen Z into the workplace and navigating new office politics. 😮 My hope is that these pieces will help you and your organizations understand and create strategies for handling the biggest challenges facing workplaces in the modern era.
We’ll also be introducing a section of Exit Interview, Editor’s Picks, where you’ll find a handful of stories not covered in other sections, but that still offer great insight.
Once again, I’d like to thank you all for being a part of this exciting journey. Have a great holiday season and I’ll see you in the new year.
– Patrick
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