How to Conduct Exit Interviews That Are Worth Your Time
Every exit costs you. Time, money, momentum. If you’re not using exit interviews to figure out exactly why employees are leaving, you’re missing a critical opportunity to protect your business. Here’s how to conduct exit interviews that give you real answers—and the exit interview questions to ask that will actually matter.
What Is an Exit Interview?
An exit interview is an essential step in the offboarding process that allows the company the opportunity to have one final structured conversation with an employee before they leave. Use the feedback you receive during an exit interview as a tool to enhance your workplace for the better and make proactive adjustments for the future. Exit interviews can reveal opportunities for improvement to strengthen your workplace culture, potential management issues, or any other underlying problems.
Why Bother? The Real Benefits of Exit Interviews
Your employee has given their two weeks’ notice. What’s the point of doing an exit interview with them? Exit interviews are one of the most underrated tools for retention and leadership growth.
Here’s what you gain when you do them right:
- Pattern Recognition: Are multiple people leaving for the same reason? If so, time to fix it.
- An Improved Workplace Culture: Honest feedback helps you improve employee engagement and create an exceptional employee experience.
- Identify Areas of Improvement: Gather insight on employee training gaps, poor management, role expectations, or an incomplete onboarding experience
- Talent Retention: Get ahead and solve internal issues before your best people walk out.
From our President, Aaron Schuh:
“An exit interview will give you insights into the REAL truth of what’s going on in your company. It’s a critical tool to managing and running your business successfully. Exit interviews can be difficult for your ego. It’s hard to hear bad stuff about you, but having an open mind and awareness lets you learn from mistakes. You can’t bury your head in the sand. You have to address it, acknowledge it, and fix it.”
The Best Exit Interview Questions to Ask
Want honest answers? Ask clear, open-ended questions. As an exit interview vendor, we’ve refined our exit interview questions over the course of thousands of conversations. Take a look at some examples below:
Company & Role-Based Questions
- What factors contributed to your decision to leave?
Get to the root cause—fast. Was it leadership? Pay? Culture? Knowing the cause of an employee’s departure can help you pinpoint areas for improvement.
- Were the job duties explained accurately during the hiring process?
A mismatch in expectations can cause an employee to head for the door.
- What did you like most and least about your job?
Use this to define what kind of person thrives (or struggles) in the role. This is also a great opportunity to look back on their employee assessment to see if any personality traits or motivations indicated this employee would be unsuccessful in the role.
- What could have prevented you from leaving?
This is your chance to hear what would’ve made them stay—and take it under consideration when moving forward for the next employee.
- What would you change to improve our company?
Employees often spot issues in management blind spots. Viewing issues through an employee’s lens brings a different perspective to light.
Training & Onboarding Questions
- Were you given the training you needed to succeed?
Employees who receive subpar training cannot perform at peak levels and are at risk of becoming frustrated enough to leave.
- How would you rate the quality of your training?
Training an employee is more than checking a box. It should be comprehensive and clear.
- Where could our training or onboarding process improve?
By identifying gaps and weaknesses, you can build better processes and pave a smoother path for your next hire.
Pro Tip: Use an Exit Interview Vendor
Exit interviews work best when employees feel comfortable being honest. That’s why many businesses turn to third-party exit interview services.
As a trusted exit interview vendor, our team conducts thorough interviews to uncover the real reasons employees are leaving—without emotion or bias. You get honest insights, actionable recommendations, and a better retention plan.
Download the Full Exit Interview Questions Template
Want a full list of exit interview questions to ask?
Download our Exit Interview Template
Need Help With Exit Interview Services?
We offer professional exit interview services to businesses that want to continuously improve their company and retain employees long-term. Our team conducts interviews, gathers data, and helps you take action based on the feedback.
We have years of experience as an Exit Interview Vendor. Contact us to get started with exit interview support.
(877) 816-6649