Exit Interview templates toolkit

What are Exit Interviews?

An exit interview is a discussion between the employer and an employee who has decided to leave the business. It’s helpful to imagine them as the opposite of a job interview - instead of asking why they want to join your company, you’re asking them why they’ve decided to leave.

The objective is to better understand why that employee has decided to resign, in the hope that the company can improve how it works and prevent other employees from following suit.

By performing an exit interview with an employee before they go, you’ll have an opportunity to get honest feedback about positive and negative experiences. This will help you determine whether there is the potential to increase employee retention, improve engagement, and get valuable insight to help hire their replacement.

Exit Interview templates are essential for managing a low-risk, compliant Exit Interview process.

Common mistakes

Understand the common mistakes employers can make when managing this area of HR, helping you reduce risk, prevent unnecessary costs and ensure the process is handled fairly, consistently and correctly.

• Making the interview a formality – Collecting answers without genuinely considering what the employee is saying.
• Using leading questions – Framing questions to encourage positive or negative answers rather than honest feedback.
• Becoming defensive – Challenging criticism instead of listening and seeking to understand it.
• Failing to identify themes – Looking at individual comments without considering recurring reasons for employees leaving.
• Promising changes – Committing the organisation to improvements that have not been properly considered.
• Ignoring confidentiality – Sharing personal feedback unnecessarily with colleagues or managers.
• Failing to act on feedback – Collecting exit information but never using it to improve retention.
• Only measuring why people leave – Failing to consider whether the same issues are affecting employees who remain.

What is a typical exit interview process workflow?

Here we show you which resources to use to effectively hold an exit interview, taking into account the different decisions and directions that are likely / possible.

Following this flowchart will ensure that you factor in all eventualities, follow legal / code of conduct or best practice processes, communicate effectively, and reduce the risk of things going wrong.

FAQs

What is an exit interview?

An exit interview is a discussion with an employee who is leaving an organisation, usually to understand their reasons for leaving and gather feedback about their experience.

Are exit interviews legally required?

No. There is generally no legal requirement for an employer to conduct an exit interview. They are a voluntary HR practice that can provide useful insight into employee experience.

What questions should be asked during an exit interview?

Questions should explore the employee's role, management, working environment, reasons for leaving and what the organisation could improve.

Who should conduct an exit interview?

An exit interview may be conducted by HR, a manager or another appropriate person who can have an objective and constructive conversation with the departing employee.

What should employers do with exit interview feedback?

Feedback should be recorded appropriately, considered alongside other employee information and used to identify themes or potential improvements.

Why use HRDocBox to support exit interviews?

HRDocBox combines real-world HR experience, subject-matter expertise and commercial understanding to support effective exit interviews with practical, tried-and-tested resources. With instant access, editable documents, ongoing updates and 12 months' access, you get practical HR support when you need it.