What Is an Exit Interview? How to Use Feedback to Improve Your Workplace

An employee exit interview is a conversation with departing employees. It helps clarify their reason for leaving, identify potential problems and areas for improvement in the organization, and retain employees in the future. This offboarding conversation is a valuable tool for creating a better workplace culture, and it costs next to nothing.

In this guide, we will explain when and how you should conduct exit interviews, plus example questions for an effective exit interview.

Why Exit Interviews Matter: Key Benefits for HR and Employers

According to HBR, 75% of companies conduct exit interviews. Such interviews can benefit the employer and a former employee alike. Here's why gather employee feedback before they quit:

1. Gather honest feedback. Most employees won't tell you the truth about an unhealthy workplace culture or a toxic boss as they care about how it impacts their career. However, when the person is quitting anyway, they are more likely to be transparent about what urged them to leave.
2. Help employees depart on a positive note. Conducting an exit interview is your last chance to leave a good impression. Even if the person is leaving because of some issues, having an honest conversation shows them that you're willing to admit your mistakes and improve.
3. Maintain employer brand. An unhappy former employee is likely to tell anyone about bad management, boring tasks, or toxic coworkers. Conducting this type of offboarding meeting helps companies prevent such issues and maintain a strong employer brand.
4. Improve corporate culture. By gathering information about workplace issues, low employee morale and poor leadership, you can take action and fix problems proactively.
5. Retain top talent. As you gather open and honest feedback from a former employee and act on it, you help the organization thrive. As a result, you'll avoid high turnover and retain the best specialists within the company.

Usually, exit interviews occur in the last days in the company after the employee handed in the notice. It can be conducted by a human resources specialist. Keep reading for more detailed guidance on conducting such interviews.

When and How to Conduct an Exit Interview

For a successful exit interview, timing, location, and the questions asked determine interview success. Here are the key guidelines for conducting an interview when an employee leaves.

Timing and Setting

The best time to conduct exit interviews is within the last few days in the company. After an employee handed in his notice, completed all projects, and maybe helped train their replacement, they they are more likely to be honest about the company culture, workplace dynamics, and the reasons for leaving.

To facilitate a productive conversation, create a confidential and open atmosphere. Hold the conversation in a separate meeting room when nobody will interrupt you. While you may have common exit interview questions at hand to guide the discussion, make it feel like an open dialogue, not a formal survey. Ask the person about their concerns, what they liked about working with you, and what could use an improvement. If you set the mood for an open conversation, your interview will be more productive.

Who Should Conduct the Interview?

Usually, an external vendor or someone from the HR team conducts an exit interview. Involving a direct manager is not the best idea unless you're a small company. In all other cases, discussing the situation with a neutral party helps a former employee be more transparent and honest. On the other hand, HR managers gather actionable insights that help them improve employee morale and the workplace environment.

Interview Format: In-person, Phone, or Online

Most companies conduct interviews with exiting employees in person. However, some experts argue that speaking with an employee on the phone can help you get more honest answers. To choose the best format for the offboarding talk, consider how long the employee has been with the company, whether they worked in the office or remotely, and so on.

Conducting an online survey instead of a one-on-one conversation is not recommended. While it helps you gather the exit data, you cannot build rapport or ask follow-up questions. As a result, you may miss some crucial points. So, it's best to talk one-on-one, ensuring that the employee feels at ease.

Top Questions to Ask During an Exit Interview

When speaking to a departing employee, human resources specialists evaluate employee satisfaction, and reasons for quitting, and collect experience to evaluate where the company can improve further. Here are the example questions most HR managers ask when an employee leaves:

1. What prompted you to start looking for new opportunities?
2. How can you describe the company culture and work environment?
3. What are the 2-3 things that you would like to be changed to stay here?
4. Did you feel you had the resources, tools, and support to do your job effectively? What was missing?
5. Did you feel that your contribution and opinion mattered? Can you share a situation when your contribution was particularly recognized/not recognized?
6. How would you evaluate the onboarding process? Were you instructed properly?
7. Did you express constructive criticism or provide feedback in the past, and how was your feedback handled?
8. How would you describe your relationship with your boss?
9. Did you feel you received sufficient feedback and opportunities for professional development? What kind of support was missing?
10. How would you describe the workplace environment and team dynamics?
11. How can you summarize your employee's experience in 3 sentences?
12. Were the company policies, expectations from the role, and company goals properly communicated to you?
13. Will you recommend your friends to become our future employees?
14. What would you recommend us to change to improve employee retention?
15. How does your new role compare to this one in terms of growth opportunities, compensation, and work-life balance?

No need to ask the same exit interview questions to all departing employees. Use these questions as inspiration, as the specific questions to ask will depend on the situation. For example, if an employee quits because of a personal conflict with a boss, questions will be different from those you'll want to ask a top performer quitting for a more lucrative role.

Common Mistakes to Avoid During Exit Interviews

Not asking insightful questions

As you conduct an exit interview, be sure to have a deep one-on-one discussion. Don't ask questions formally; instead, try to listen to your former employee's experience and concerns. Being open to an honest, genuine discussion will help you gain insights that make your company thrive.

Conducting a group discussion

These discussions should be held privately. Don't involve coworkers, boss, and other employees. There should be two people in the room: an HR representative and a departing employee. Involving other people won't make the conversation neutral, therefore, you won't get honest answers.

Getting defensive

When an employee is open about the issues in the company, such as the lack of growth, poor leadership, or toxic culture, don't start defending the company. Your goal is not to prove that the employee is wrong, but rather to gain useful insights about what happens in the organization, and initiate meaningful change.

Not being confidential

Maintaining confidentiality is the key rule of exit interviews. After you've gathered and summarized interview details, provide them to superiors and leaders anonymously. Revealing the leaving employee's identity will undermine trust and spoil their impression of the company. What's more, current employees will not voice their concerns openly.

Exit Interview vs Stay Interview: Key Differences

A stay interview is another type of conversation used to identify areas for improvement and shape employee experience. However, its purpose is completely different. Let's explore the two interview types in detail.

1. Purpose of the interview. Exit interviews are focused on identifying reasons why people leave the organization. Stay interviews reveal what motivates current employees to stay with the company and what they appreciate most.
2. Interview frequency. Exit discussions take place once after an employee handed in their notice. Stay interviews can be held once or twice a year to keep the information current.
3. Number of employees interviewed. HR professionals typically hold these talks with one departing employee. As for stay interviews, they are conducted for a group of people in the organization.

Both interviews can be insightful for the organization and lay the foundation for growth and a better employer brand. Below, you'll find examples of how exit interviews can help transform the employee experience.

Real-Life Examples: What You Can Learn From Exit Interviews

Example #1. In a digital marketing agency, talented marketers were consistently leaving the organization for competitors. An A feedback session with one marketer revealed that the company didn't fulfill its promises related to career growth and compensation. As a new hire, this marketer was promised a promotion to senior or lead marketer and training every quarter. However, training took place once a year, and there wasn't any promotion in 3 years. Moreover, a lucrative bonus was difficult to earn because of unrealistic performance goals. The agency revised their hiring process to communicate realistic expectations, and revised bonus structures, which led to reduced turnaround.

Example #2. One fintech company identified the trend that their top developers were leaving after 1-2 years. Three most recent exit interviews revealed high workloads, pressure, and a lack of work-life balance. Developers had to stay in touch until late evening were assigned extra tasks on weekends, and started to burn out because of their inability to disconnect. Based on these interviews, the company re-evaluated workloads, hired additional staff, and offered resources to support employee well-being, which improved overall morale and retention.

What to Do With Exit Interview Data

HR insights from exit interviews can help reduce retention, increase employee engagement, and create a better corporate culture. Here's how exit interview data can help the organization thrive:

1. Save money. Losing an employee costs the organization 33% of their annual salary. By identifying reasons that urge talent to leave, management can address them proactively, reduce turnover, and save the company's finances.
2. Identify trends. If one person quits because of a conflict with a boss, it can be something personal. Yet, if three employees resign from a team, it is a sure sign of bad leadership. By revealing trends, you can provide information to upper management so they can handle the situation and fix it early.
3. Reduce turnover. By understanding what makes people quit, the company can offer training, sports compensation, better work-life balance, and other benefits to retain talent in the team.

Frequently Asked Questions About Exit Interviews

Is it mandatory to conduct an exit interview?

Having an exit interview is not a must have, and some companies choose not to conduct them. However, such an interview can provide you with invaluable insights about why people leave. The company management can act on these insights to reduce turnaround, strengthen employer brand, and retain top talent.

Should exit interviews be confidential?

Confidentiality is paramount in exit interviews. When departing employees believe that their identity will not be revealed, they can speak honestly about what prompted them to leave and problems in the organization that senior management might not be aware of.

Who should conduct an exit interview?

Usually, someone from the HR team conducts exit interviews. It is essential that a neutral third party conducts such an interview to create transparecy and eliminate bias in a conversation. Plus, you will get more honest answers about the employee's role and where the employee's expectations weren't met.

When does an exit interview take place?

Exit interviews are a part of the offboarding process. That being said, human resources scheduled them in one of the last days in the organization, after the employee handed in their notice. If the employee resigns without notice, you can conduct such an interview on the phone.

What kind of questions do you ask during an exit interview?

Typically, HR professionals ask questions about the corporate culture, team dynamics, leadership, and what the departing employee liked/disliked about the organization, as well as their reason for quitting. You may ask additional questions depending on the situation. For the best result, don't ask the same questions to everyone and vary them depending on the context.

Can I refuse to participate in an exit interview?

As an employee, you can refuse to complete an exit interview, as they are not mandatory by law. However, review any papers you signed, such as intellectual property agreements and your contract. If it is specified in your employment contract next to that you agree to complete it, you will need to do it.

Helpful Resources for HR Professionals and Job-Seekers

Looking to explore the topic of interviews in detail? Browse our expert guides for a successful job interview preparation:

1. Top hiring manager interview questions for every position & industry to prepare for an interview successfully.
2. Popular behavioral interview questions guide to ace this type of interview.
3. Tips for a successful interview for job-seekers to help you prepare and make the right impression on a hiring manager.

Final Thoughts: Turn Departures Into Growth Opportunities

If you're still wondering "Are exit interviews mandatory?", here's the answer: you don't have to conduct them, but such interviews are invaluable. They help you assess company policies and culture honestly, identify areas for growth, and boost retention. When an employee leaves, they will answer honestly and help you understand the situation, fix it, and create a better workplace environment that people won't want to leave.

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