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Exit Interview Questions: 30 Questions to Ask Before Someone Leaves

Free Manager Tools › Retention

An exit interview is a short, confidential conversation with someone who has resigned, to find out why they are leaving and what would have made them stay. Done well, it is the cheapest retention research you will ever get: the person has nothing left to lose by being honest.

The short version: have someone other than their direct manager run it in their last week, keep it confidential, ask open questions about why they started looking, their manager, growth, workload and culture, and listen far more than you talk. Then look for patterns across several exits, not just one.

Before the interview

  • Pick the right interviewer. Ideally HR or another manager, not the person's direct manager. People are rarely candid about their boss to their boss.
  • Time it well. Schedule it in their final week, not on their last afternoon when they are handing over and saying goodbyes.
  • Explain the purpose. Tell them it is about improving the team for the people who stay, not about changing their mind or judging their decision.
  • Promise confidentiality, then keep it. Share themes, not quotes, and never anything that identifies them.

30 exit interview questions

You will not need all of them. Pick six to ten from across the groups and follow the answers wherever they lead.

Why they are leaving

  1. What first prompted you to start looking for a new job?
  2. Was there a specific moment when you decided to leave?
  3. What does your new role offer that this one didn't?
  4. If you could have changed one thing here, would you have stayed?
  5. Did you ever raise what was bothering you? What happened?

The role and workload

  1. How did the job compare with what you expected when you joined?
  2. How manageable was your workload, most weeks?
  3. Did you have the tools and resources to do your job well?
  4. What part of your role was most frustrating?

Their manager and support

  1. How well did your manager give you feedback and support?
  2. Did you feel your work was recognised? How?
  3. How clear were you on what was expected of you?
  4. What could your manager have done differently?
  5. Did you feel comfortable raising problems or disagreeing?

Growth and development

  1. Did you have opportunities to grow here?
  2. Did you talk about your career goals with your manager? How often?
  3. Was there a skill you wanted to build that you couldn't here?
  4. Did you see a future for yourself in this company? Why or why not?

Team and culture

  1. How would you describe the culture to a friend?
  2. How well did the team work together?
  3. Was there anyone who made work harder for others?
  4. What do you think we tolerate here that we shouldn't?

Pay and benefits

  1. How did you feel about your pay compared with the market?
  2. Which benefits mattered most to you, and which didn't?
  3. Did pay play a part in your decision, or was it something else?

Looking forward

  1. What should we keep doing because it works?
  2. What one thing would you change for the people who stay?
  3. What advice would you give the person who replaces you?
  4. Would you recommend working here to a friend?
  5. Would you consider coming back in the future?

How to run the conversation

  1. Open warmly. Thank them for their work and repeat that this is confidential and about improving things for others.
  2. Start broad, then go deeper. Begin with why they started looking. The real reason often comes out on the second or third question, not the first.
  3. Listen actively. Don't defend, correct or explain. Paraphrase what you hear and ask "can you tell me more about that?"
  4. Ask for specifics. "Communication was poor" is not actionable. "Priorities changed every week without explanation" is.
  5. Close well. Thank them, wish them well and leave the door open. Good leavers become customers, referrers and boomerang hires.

What to do with the answers

One exit interview is an anecdote. Five that mention the same thing are a pattern. Keep a simple log of the main reason for each exit and review it every quarter.

  • Track your attrition rate. Attrition rate = (people who left ÷ average headcount) × 100. Watch the trend, not one month.
  • Separate the preventable from the unpreventable. A partner relocating is not a management problem. A manager who never gives feedback is.
  • Look for a manager pattern. If exits cluster under one manager, a 360° survey of that manager is the next step.
  • Act before the next resignation. Exit interviews tell you why people left. Stay interviews tell you why people might leave, while you can still do something about it.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the direct manager run it. You will hear about "a great opportunity elsewhere" and nothing else.
  • Treating it as a box-ticking HR form. A survey link gets survey answers. A conversation gets the truth.
  • Trying to win them back in the interview. If you want to make a counter-offer, do it separately.
  • Collecting answers and never reading them. If nothing changes, people stop being honest.
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FAQs

Who should conduct an exit interview?

Ideally someone from HR or a manager from another team. The direct manager is the person leavers are least likely to be candid with, especially if the manager is part of the reason they are leaving.

When should an exit interview happen?

In the person's final week, at a time when they are not rushing a handover. Some companies also send a short follow-up survey a few months after the person has left, when they can compare with their new job.

Are exit interviews confidential?

They should be. Share themes and patterns with managers, never quotes or details that could identify the person, unless they have explicitly agreed.

How long should an exit interview take?

Thirty to forty-five minutes is usually enough. Six to ten good questions with follow-ups will tell you more than thirty rushed ones.

What is the difference between an exit interview and a stay interview?

An exit interview asks people who have already resigned why they are leaving. A stay interview asks people who are still with you what keeps them and what might make them leave, so you can act before they resign.