When one door closes, another one opens. While an employee’s notice of resignation is generally sad news, it’s also an opportunity for the company to learn from its mistakes. There are many reasons why you should conduct exit interviews, like improving future retention rates. In this blogpost, we walk you through how to conduct an exit interview in five steps. 

Step 1: Assign an Exit Interview Policy

The exit interview process begins long before an employee resigns. Exit interviews are typically voluntary, but you can improve employee participation by setting expectations early in the employee’s career at the company. An exit interview policy communicates that exit interviews are a standard part of offboarding, preparing employees for the process well ahead of time. 

An exit interview policy should outline: 

Assign your policy to new employees along with other onboarding materials in their employee handbook. 

Step 2: Create a Standardized Process 

Asking every interviewee the same set of questions in the same way helps you track information consistently so that you can identify patterns more easily. You should ask both qualitative and quantitative questions. These questions should cover how the company can improve retention in the future. 

Ask questions about the employee’s experience and opinions on the company’s: 

Do not ask questions that: 

Decide whether interviews will be conducted through an in-person or virtual conversation, through a questionnaire, or both. When making this decision, consider whether you would prefer employees to answer questions anonymously (for more honest feedback) or with an interviewer who can encourage them to elaborate when needed. 

Step 3: Plan and Schedule the Exit Interview 

Even with a standardized process, you can be flexible with some exit interview elements and tailor your approach for each situation. Before conducting the exit interview, consider the following: 

Step 4: Conduct the Exit Interview 

Opening Instructions 

Before beginning the interview or providing a questionnaire, mention the following: 

During the Interview 

If you choose to conduct an exit interview with an interviewer, they should: 

After the Interview 

The employee’s responses may trigger other employer obligations. If the resigning employee informs you of any issues they experienced or witnessed involving sexual harassment, discrimination, or other unlawful activity at work, follow company policies and promptly investigate the issue. If you are unsure about your obligations, consult one of our experts

Additionally, continue to protect the reputation of the employee. Confidentiality isn’t always possible, such as in small companies with low turnover, but follow company policies to avoid compromising the employee. 

Step 5: Analyse Results 

Conducting the interview is only part of the process. You also need to know what to do with employee responses. Compile the information you collected from each exit interview into one location, like a spreadsheet. Then, look for trends and patterns: 

Analyse different segments of your workforce, too. Sort the information you have by categories: for example, demographics, tenure, department, performance, turnover reason, and job title. Prioritize improving retention rates when turnover in one specific segment costs more, is more frequent, and contributes more to organizational strategy than other segments. 

Share results with authorized individuals in the company who can make organizational changes that will address turnover trends. Improving workplace practices based on employee feedback can reduce problems like active disengagement. Schedule regular (for example, quarterly) opportunities to share trends and insights and to discuss solutions. Be sure to also highlight what’s going well according to employee feedback and build on those strengths. 

Sample Questions 

McLean & Company found that regrettable turnover (employees who voluntarily quit but whom the company wished to keep) commonly happens for these reasons: 

Ask employees questions related to these factors in the exit interview, such as: 

Exit interviews are a valuable way to get insight into where your company can improve retention, but it shouldn’t be the first time you explore issues in your workforce. Ask employees about their engagement at the company and improve conditions before they submit a notice.