How to Conduct Exit Interviews

What is an exit interview?

The exit interview offers an opportunity to receive transparent feedback about your company from a departing employee. It also provides a chance to gain valuable insights into what employees really think about their time in your workplace – information that could be used in the future to improve staff retention and the quality of the organisation.

Possible questions: 

• How would you describe your working relationship with your colleagues? This can highlight any tensions that you are unaware of, and offer insights into how you can develop a more cohesive and productive team going forward.
• What company processes do you think could be improved? The responses here can help you understand what your company can do to improve company operations, employee happiness and staff engagement. If one employee is unhappy about a particular aspect of the organisation, chances are others could feel the same way. Actively asking for areas of improvement can offer a fresh perspective on your workplace and provide inspiration on the steps that need to be taken to improve.
• The benefit of having pre-prepared questions is that you have discussion points to focus on. Allow the leaving employee do the bulk of the talking, to help you understand any weakness in your workplace practices.