How to conduct an exit interview

To conduct an exit interview, follow these steps:

Determine who will be conducting the interview

Human resource officials are commonly used by companies to conduct exit interviews because they can create a neutral atmosphere for the employee to share their thoughts on the company and their overall experience.

HR officials are also valuable in this situation because they can take the feedback from the interview and possibly seek to improve or change certain company policies.

External companies can also be utilized to conduct exit interviews. Again, this has the advantage of giving the employee an unbiased environment to share their thoughts. However, if the employee has had a positive overall experience, this option can seem somewhat cold.

Prepare for the exit interview

It is important to do the necessary preparation for an exit interview, even if you have conducted them before. Employees can be very different, so you should prepare for each exit interview accordingly.

Determine what questions you will ask the employee, and do your due diligence in learning about the employee and what they have contributed to your company beforehand.

Pick a private and quiet location and clear your calendar, to be respectful of the employee who is exiting.

Have the employee complete a survey

The employee is not obligated to do this, but if you politely present one, it could provide valuable information and data points when compiled with other surveys.

If the survey contains written questions, it also allows the employee to think carefully about their answers in advance.

When employing this tactic, have the employee fill out the survey before the exit interview. This gives you the chance to review their answers and formulate questions for the exit interview.

Scheduling the exit interview

Employees generally give two weeks' notice when leaving a job. If this is the case, you should aim to do the exit interview around the time your employee has about a week left to work for you.

Listen closely during the exit interview

When not actively listening to an employee during an exit interview, it means this interview was not necessary. You are there to hear their thoughts and experiences, and they have taken the time to tell you. Be respectful and get the most out of the exit interview by actively listening.

Ask the employee if you can share their responses with senior employees

Exit interviews are mostly conducted with the prerequisite of them being confidential. However, you can still ask them if you can share their answers with managers or other higher-up company officials.

You should always remind them that their answers can remain confidential though.

Common exit interview questions

Here are some examples of effective questions to ask in an exit interview:

• Why did you decide to leave our company?

• What is our organization doing right?

• What do you feel our organization is doing wrong or poorly?

• What are your overall thoughts on your experience working here?

• In your opinion, what should we do to improve our company?

• What advice would you give to the person that will fill your role?