14 Best Employee Exit Interview Questions to Ask (With Exit Interview Templates)

As an increasing number of people continue to switch their jobs, employers are interested in finding out the ‘why’ behind this. This is where the exit interview comes into play. Hiring top talent adds up costs, as per Forbes, It costs an average of $1,400 to onboard a new employee. Understanding the core reason behind why so many people leave the organization can help reduce the turnover rate.

Employee exit interviews are critical for an organization to build better staff retention strategies and improve its workplace environment. They offer the opportunity to understand why an employee is leaving the organization and help management to understand the company’s strengths and weaknesses. Right questioning can help management t understand the organization’s more profound underlying matters that standard channels for obtaining employee feedback might miss. These employee insights can further be used to identify the hidden challenges and improve the organization’s policies and management structure wherever needed.

This blog features 14 best employee exit interview questions along with an exit interview template that can help you get the most out of your employee exit interviews.

Section 1: General Reasons for Leaving

What prompted you to start looking for another job?

Understanding the initial trigger that made an employee look for a job can be critical. Career growth, dissatisfaction with the role, or other external factors can be the reasons behind the departure. Through this exit survey question, an employer can identify unforeseen problems and address them before they affect other employees and increase employee turnover.

What made you decide to leave?

Though the first nudge may have driven the job search, this is a follow-up question to understand the detailed information about what led the employee to leave and accept the other offer. This question can highlight the reason for employee resignation. This can also highlight challenges within organizations like lack of growth opportunities, no added benefits, better compensation by competition, or dissatisfaction with management. In this way, the organization can find out the elements vital for job retention.

Section 2: Job Satisfaction

What did you enjoy most about your role and working here?

This question tries to find the answer about the good aspects of your organization. This enables the departing employee to highlight what the company is doing right and what are its unique offerings to its employees. Ask employees precisely about the job and work environment that they like and enjoy, this gives you the chance to further reiterate these positive aspects to retain employees and attract new talent.

What could have made your job more fulfilling or challenging?

Employees most often look for growth and fulfillment from their jobs. Asking what might have made the job more satisfying can lead an employer to introspect areas in which employees feel they may lack sufficiency in their job design, areas for professional development, or areas for making roles more engaging. This employee feedback can help in enhancing job enrichment strategies and career development programs for your employees.

Section 3: Management and Leadership

How would you describe your relationship with your manager?

Job satisfaction primarily depends on work satisfaction and the relationship an employee has with their manager. No matter how much potential an employee may have, a sour relationship with management can hit their productivity and morale. The status of organizational leadership and job satisfaction are often determined by how an employee views their relationship with their manager.

Usually, people who love their job have a positive relationship with the team and management, while one of the prime reasons for those who leave it is a bad relationship with management. Though one employee can have some issues with their manager, a rising trend and increasing complaints indicate that there is something wrong with the manager’s approach that needs to be addressed on an urgent basis.

Do you think management adequately recognized your contributions?

Recognition and appreciation are critical elements for an employee to stay motivated and on the job. If employees feel that their efforts are not well valued, they tend to leave and it can be indicative of some other deeper problem with the company’s culture. The question aims to identify if the recognition programs run by management and the organization are effective or inefficient.

Section 4: Work Environment and Culture

Did you feel included and valued as part of the team?

This recognition and appreciation are critical elements for employee motivation and retention. If leaving employees feel that their efforts were not well valued, it can be indicative of some other deeper problem with the company’s culture. The question identifies if the recognition programs running are effective or inefficient.

What aspects of our work environment were positive or negative?

A positive and supportive work environment and conditions can determine the satisfaction of employees with work and jobs. One must look to identify both positive and negative sides so that the employer can get a holistic view of what is being done well and what can be improved. The work environment includes physical workspace, office facilities, company culture, flexibility, and interpersonal relationships.

Section 5: Training and Development

Did you receive the necessary training to perform your job effectively?

Adequate training can affect employee performance and employee satisfaction. When the employees think that they have not been sufficiently trained, they do not come up with good performances, which makes them frustrated and ignites the hunt for better opportunities. Some organizations fail to understand the importance of this aspect, 88% of the employees believe they aren’t given a good onboarding program. The question is critical in identifying the gaps in training programs, structure, and frequency.

Were there additional training or support that could have been beneficial?

A follow-up question on whether support and development opportunities were given to the departing employee can help identify the intent of the employee towards his/ her improvement and how the organization supported it. This question highlights whether employees believed they were provided with the appropriate resources and support sufficient for their further professional development.

Section 6: Company Policies and Procedures

Were there any company policies you found difficult to understand?

Employees may get confused and frustrated by policies that are too complex or poorly communicated. This question gives employers the opportunity to identify ambiguous policies, and simplify, and improve such policies better to enhance the experience of employee communication.

How satisfied were you with the company’s policies on time off, benefits, and compensation?

Other critical elements that affect employee satisfaction with the job are compensation, benefits, and work-life balance. This question helps measure up to what extent the company’s policies are helping to provide for the employees’ needs and expectations. A high dissatisfaction in this regard may lead to enhanced turnovers. Therefore, it is essential to have the right information about market trends, HR best practices, and industry standards.

Section 7: Suggestions for Improvement

What suggestions do you have for improving our company?

When asked appropriately, the outgoing employees can share their honest opinions about the possible areas of improvement based on their personal experience within the company. This is an open-ended question, which lets them describe everything, from the company’s culture to its operation. Honest feedback from these sessions, when taken positively and constructively, can trigger practical ideas that can make a workplace an excellent place to work for the employees.

Would you consider returning to our company in the future?

The question tries to elicit how the employees feel about the company as they exit. Being open to the opportunity of returning back is a sign that their experience may have been fruitful, and they see the organization’s future bright. It also opens the door for keeping records for potential rehiring in the future.

Sample Employee Exit interview template

Here is a sample employee exit interview form that you can use to conduct exit interviews.

Download Employee Exit Interview template

Conclusion

If one sees it, employee exit interviews are a great source for understanding the causes of employee turnover and identifying pain areas that need attention within an organization. These 14 employee exit interview questions facilitate constructive feedback that enables employers to improve their working environment, management practices, and overall satisfaction of the employees. This input is crucial in developing a positive culture at the workplace, and good retention of the employees, and can enable the eventual success of the organization.

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