2024

3 Exit Interview Templates

Are you looking for exit interview questions? Read on to find your answers.

What is an Exit Interview?

An exit interview form is a document employers give employees who are voluntarily departing the company.

The sections of the form include the following areas:

  • Reason for leaving
  • View the work environment
  • Job description and how the employee was feeling about it now versus when they started
  • The perspective of the company culture 
  • Feedback about the technology tools and resources available

Conducting exit interviews helps determine employee culture, change management style and determine employees’ objectives. Here are some exit interview templates for you.

Basic Exit Interview Sample

We appreciate you taking some time to answer the following questions as honestly as possible. Your responses are confidential and will not become part of your personnel file.

We believe that the information is vital and will assist in analyzing our employee retention and turnover. I appreciate your cooperation.   

NameEmployment Date
DepartmentTermination Date
PositionManager
  1. Why did you start looking around for a new job?
  2. What led you to accept the new position?
  3. Did you feel the company equipped you to do your job well?
  4. How will you describe the culture of our work environment?
  5. Any specific examples that you can think of?
  6. What can we do for you to remain employed here?
  7. Did you share your problems with anyone here before leaving?
  8. If you can change anything about your job or the company, what will you change?
  9. Were you satisfied with your management?
  10. Did you have any prospective goals and objectives here?
  11. Did you receive constructive criticism to help you improve your skills?
  12. How can our company improve training and development programs?
  13. Will you consider coming back to work here in the future? In what area or function? What will need to change?

Elaborate Exit Interview Template

We are thankful that you are taking out time to answer these questions. 

Please be as candid as possible. While we will share some information with the management, individual responses will remain confidential to HR and will not be held against you. 

Purpose:

This Exit Interview intends to ensure that every employee is aware of their rights and benefits and that the records are collected and maintained regarding the termination of employment.

Policy:

The policy of [company] is to ensure that any employee whose employment terminates, whether voluntary or involuntarily, receives an exit interview. The exit interview will be done by [name] and/ or [name]. The objectives of the exit interview are as follows:

  • To determine and discuss the employee’s reason for resignation, if applicable.
  • To discover and discuss any misunderstandings the employee might have had about their job or their manager.
  • To maintain goodwill and teamwork amongst current and future employees.
  • To review administrative details with the employee, such as benefit continuation rights and conversion privileges, if any, final pay, re-employment policy, and employment compensation.
  • To arrange for the return of any company property to the operations team.

Procedure:

Upon an employee’s announcement of his intent to resign, the project director or manager will schedule an exit interview for the employee with [name] or [name] as soon as possible.

In the event that a decision is to terminate an employee, the employee will meet with [name] or [name] for an exit interview as soon as possible or as deemed appropriate. 

Throughout the exit interview, [name] or [name] will meet all the objectives listed within the exit interview policy. The departing employee will complete the following exit interview form as thoroughly as possible.

Any information obtained during the exit interview can be disclosed to and/or discussed with the employee-manager, the Project Director, and Partners, as deemed necessary, to investigate any allegations made or inform them of any emerging problems.

Reminders:

Please remember that you completed your work with [company] under a non-disclosure agreement. We highly value client confidentiality and all terms of the contract. Feel free to request a copy for your reference if you do not already have one.

You must return all [company] equipment to the main office to receive the final payment. 

[Employee Name] // [Date]

[Date of hire] // [Last date of employment]

[Job title] // [Department]  

1) Please Rate your Direct Supervisor on the Following 

[Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor]

  • Clearly communicated expectations.
  • Held weekly or biweekly personal meetings to discuss my work. 
  • Provided regular and consistent feedback about my work. 
  • Provided guidance and leadership to the entire team.

2) Please Rate the Company’s Perks, Benefits, and Workplace Experience 

[Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor]

  • Life, healthcare, and dental insurance coverage.
  • Workspace and equipment.
  • PTO policy.
  • Flexibility and work-life balance.
  • Company-sponsored events.
  • 401(k) plan

For any items not marked “Agree,” please explain why. 

3) Please Rate the Company’s Perks, Benefits, and Workplace Experience 

[Agree, Agree Somewhat, Disagree]

  • The job description provided a just representation of the duties my role entailed.
  • I feel I was trained and set for success.
  • I was provided opportunities for career progression throughout my employment.
  • My responsibilities changed a lot throughout my employment.
  • My position allowed me to apply my skills and use my greatest strengths.
  • I feel my salary was fair for my role and responsibilities.

4) Please Rate the Company on the Following 

[Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor]

  • Communication with employees regarding updates and changes
  • Communication with employees regarding internal opportunities
  • Communication of company mission, vision, and objectives
  • Cross-department communication, collaboration, and cooperation
  • PTO policy (including vacation, sick days, and paid holidays)
  • Communicating and upholding company culture

For any items not marked “Agree,” please explain why.

5) Please Rate the Following Statements as True or False 

[True, False]

  • I will consider returning to the organization in the future
  • I will feel comfortable referring someone else to work here

6) Why are you choosing to leave the company?

7) Is there anything we can do to change your decision to leave?

8) Is there any other feedback?

Thank you for your valuable time. We wish you luck in your prospective endeavors.

Short Exit Interview Sample

  1. Name of the Candidate 
  2. Designation 
  3. Department 
  4. Date Started 
  5. Date of Exiting

    Questions

    1. Which of the following is the reason behind your resignation? 

Select one or more: Unsatisfactory Salary, Insufficient Career Growth, Other 

2. How did you find the company’s working culture and environment? 

Please Select: Unfavorable, Growth-Oriented 

3. What kind of hurdles did you face in due course of your tenure? 

Please Select: Lack of official coordination Misbehaviour of staff 

4. Did the concerned department take any course of action against your reported complaints? 

Yes or No (Please mention the cause below) 

5. Have you collected your total compensation and this month’s salary from the accounts department? 

6. Any Remarks? 

Additional Questions to Add in an Exit Interview

  1. Why did you accept your current position with our organization?
  2. Did we meet your expectations of the job? If not, then why?
  3. What do you wish you had known before taking the job?
  4. Did you use your talents and skills in the completion of projects?
  5. Was your career path with our company made clear to you?
  6. What good aspects about your job, manager, or the organization caused you to remain as long as you did?
  7. What do you consider the toughest challenge this company faces and needs to overcome?
  8. What were the top three problems with productivity in your job?
  9. What will you suggest to management to make our organization a better place to work?
  10. What advice will you give your replacement?
  11. Will you recommend this organization to others as a place to work? Why or why not?
  12. Will you consider re-employment?
  13. What, if anything, can be done to stop you from leaving?
  14. Do you have any issues if we share your comments with the management?
  15. Were you recruited, or did you find your new job?
  16. Did you observe any breaches of laws or policies?
  17. Did you face any type of harassment?
  18. Were you asked to do anything unethical?
  19. Do you have any suggestions?

What should I Include in an Exit Interview Form?

Overall, here are a few areas you have to cover for an insightful response: 

  • Feedback about the Manager

During the exit interview, include questions that address the employee relationship with the manager. Responses to these questions will help determine whether the manager provided employees with the guidance, feedback, and training they needed to excel in their roles.

  • Triggers that Made the Employee Leave

One of the most essential information from an exit interview is why your employee decided to leave the organization. This will help you determine if there are weak points in the culture, whether the company is providing its workforce opportunities to grow or if there are any personnel concerns.

  • Missing Perks, Benefits, and Opportunities

Sometimes employees accept an offer from a different company because of opportunities or perks that work better with their lifestyle. For instance, employees who want to spend more time with their families can choose to work for a company that offers flexible hours and work-from-home opportunities. Answers to these questions can expose opportunities to improve benefits packages and workplace policies.

  • Creating a More Detailed Job Description

If employees are leaving because they are no longer happy with their job position, then this is an excellent opportunity to change the job description. In addition, employee feedback can help ensure that future job postings accurately mirror the role and appeal to specialists who will be a good fit. 

  • Satisfaction with the Company

How do your employees feel about the company as they leave? Will they refer it to a friend? Will they eventually consider coming back to the company? These answers can help you identify whether the company is providing an enjoyable workplace and will highlight opportunities to improve further.

Exit Interview Best Practices

An exit interview does not just support you in understanding why your talent is leaving. It also enables you to make sure you can enforce strategies or changes to enhance the satisfaction of the workforce who stays.

However, it is not easy to understand what a highly productive exit interview looks like.

Here are some of the best practices.

1. Ask the Same Questions

The key to conducting productive exit interviews is to ask the same questions of all people who leave. This structure allows codifying the exit responses so companies can take out data on why employees are leaving and how to improve the employee experience.

The company can do this by having a standard exit interview form that leavers submit and then having an unbiased third-party follow-up, face to face, to go more in-depth on the answers the individual filled out in the exit interview. Exit interviews are not essential unless you plan on utilizing them by coupling them with employee survey data to understand the employee experience.

2. Understand the Why Behind the Person’s Resignation

You must understand why someone is leaving to gather trends over time. As an HR team, it helps to not overreact to one person’s experience and conversely helps identify trends that the company can proactively address before they lead to more unwanted attrition.

3. Explain the Purpose Behind the Exit Interview

You must explain the exit interview’s purpose to each leaving party before you begin. 

You can say that we hope to use your feedback to keep improving our culture and processes, so we want to hear your honest opinion on how your experience has been. That way, they do not feel like they are participating in a conversation that won’t be used to create change.

4. Ensure Interviews Stay Confidential

Make sure the exit interviews are confidential between the HR team and employees. While the company can use data or general insights to improve employee experience, your employee needs to know their exact complaints will not reach their old manager or coworkers.

5. Thanking the Employee

Finally, thank your employees for taking the time to provide feedback during exit interviews. While one individual cannot specify issues regarding an entire department or team, you will probably see overlapping problems that can help you determine how to improve your workplace in the long run.

Conclusion 

As an employer, hr business professional, or the hr department, your goal is to retain top talent as long as possible. However, turnover is natural as some employees leave to pursue other endeavors. Therefore, conduct exit interviews of employees before their departure, as you will have an opportunity to get honest feedback about job satisfaction, figure out the reason behind the employee turnover rate and gain valuable insight to help hire their replacement.

The purpose of the exit interview process helps in two ways. Firstly, it is a cost-effective method to get an honest opinion of the environment. Exit interviews allow workers to share their experiences within the organization as well as their views about the processes, culture, and management structure during their time.

 

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Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter is the founder of HR.University. He's a certified HR professional and has managed global teams across 5 different continents including their benefits and payroll. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.