Exit interviews can be a powerful tool in employee retention. We asked several experts their advice on how to conduct a successful one.
Exit interviews are an undervalued tool in the employee experience toolbox. While employees leave a company for many reasons, identifying the root cause of departures can turn up common pain points and areas for improvement. When a company collects, analyzes and acts on such data, they can introduce changes to help retain skilled and valued employees.
Yet too many companies skip or go through the motions when it comes to the exit interview.
We asked a number of experts how organizations can get the most out of the exit interview.
The Question
What question should you ask exiting employees during an exit interview?
It’s important to see every employee exit as an opportunity to enhance future retention efforts. An effective employee exit survey will capture a holistic view of the company experience and culture if it balances inquiries about both company strengths and challenges. Avoid vague or multiple-choice survey questions, as the feedback might not be specific enough to provide actionable insights.
For example, asking the question “Why are you leaving the company?” and then providing selections such as “work-life balance” or “career opportunity,” will limit the potential for deeper insights that could be gleaned by instead framing the question to an open-ended, “Please explain why you’re leaving” prompt. Additionally, distinguishing data between “regretted” and “non-regretted” departures, or against past performance review data can also identify leading indicators of attrition for the future of those employees you consider to be strong performers or high potential.
Ingrid Wilson, Senior HR Executive & CHRO and Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Strategist
In a human resources context, exit interviews are typically used to gather feedback on the experiences of employees during their journey within an organization. The effectiveness of the exit interview is dependent on 1) how the exit interviews are conducted, 2) who conducts the exit interview, 3) what data is gathered during the exit interview and 4) how the data gathered during the exit interview is used to improve the overall employee experience. Most importantly, for exit interviews to be effective there must first be an environment of safety and trust.
In the world where innovation and AI are becoming more embedded in people systems exit interviews are less and less conducted in person. More often exit interviews are conducted through surveys. There are pros and cons to each of these processes as below:
With in-person exit interviews there is more of a chance that employees will participate in the exit interview as it is booked prior to their departure from the organization. The challenge is whether the employee is comfortable with providing honest responses to the person conducting the interview. This is why the person who is conducting the exit interview needs to be a neutral party and someone who has created an environment of trust.
Exit interviews conducted by surveys allow employees a safer environment and opportunity to respond to the exit interview request — often after they have departed from the organization. Alternatively, an employee can also choose not to respond to the exit interview request as it is often difficult to mandate the completion of exit interview surveys in this format.
The questions asked during an exit interview are also important to ensure you are effectively identifying trends that are detrimentally affecting employees and successes that can be built on to improve the employee experience. Typical questions and data gathered during exit interview surveys are:
reasons for leaving
role satisfaction
relationship with colleagues and leaders
lack of career development opportunities
compensation issues
leadership issues
However, these questions tend to gather surface-level responses, often only providing for yes or no responses and not allowing for open-ended responses that could provide more in-depth data regarding employee experience in an organization. Here are examples of other questions I would suggest be included in an exit interview:
What part of your role allowed you to thrive and be successful in your role?
Was there any part of your role or responsibilities that impacted you detrimentally at any time during your employment?
What is your experience with career development in the organization? Are there career development pathways available for all employees in the organization?
It is also important to implement other interview formats during an employee's time with the organization from orientation, through onboarding, career development and promotion to departure to understand what impacts an employee’s experience and to promote retention and engagement — such as stay interviews. This will go a long way to reducing the need for exit interviews.
Collecting exit data is not about collecting information, it’s a powerful way to drive positive change and improve the employee experience. Leaving a company is as important as joining in an employee's lifecycle. Exit interviews are a critical component of the offboarding process, and they offer direct insights from departing employees about their experiences and perceptions of the company. Understanding the reasons for employee departures is essential to identify patterns, trends and areas for improvement within the organization. In combination with data from onboarding interviews and from regular engagement surveys, companies can paint a holistic picture of their employees’ experience in the organization. Embracing an open feedback culture does not only enable employees, but also enables organizations to grow and learn.
There are several key questions that should be covered in exit interviews:
Experiences with leadership and management
Satisfaction and authenticity of a company’s culture
The effectiveness of communication in the organization
Evaluation of development and learning opportunities
By asking employees if they would refer a company or consider returning later, organizations can build alumni networks and strong relationships with potential returnees.
When collecting exit data, companies should create a safe environment for honest feedback. Instead of forwarding specific feedback directly to managers, companies should aggregate the data, identify patterns, and derive insights and recommendations for the entire organization, such as addressing unmet expectations or goals, and improving programs that need enhancement. If companies are truly invested to deliver the best employee experience, they must act on the outcome of exit interviews.
Tiffani Bova, author of “The Experience Mindset” and host of the “What’s Next Podcast”
The exit interview isn’t nearly as important as the onboarding interview and the continuous touchpoints throughout the employee’s career experience. If you wait until the exit, you’ll be getting a POV that’s infused with an energy that’s good, bad or indifferent. You want to know what your people, your team thinks while they’re employed and looking to thrive within your organization. That’s not to say don’t do exits, but the bigger ask is to do onboarding and ongoing interviews.
About the Author
Michelle Hawley is an experienced journalist who specializes in reporting on the impact of technology on society. As editorial director at Simpler Media Group, she oversees the day-to-day operations of VKTR, covering the world of enterprise AI and managing a network of contributing writers. She's also the host of CMSWire's CMO Circle and co-host of CMSWire's CX Decoded. With an MFA in creative writing and background in both news and marketing, she offers unique insights on the topics of tech disruption, corporate responsibility, changing AI legislation and more. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and two dogs. Connect with Michelle Hawley:
