FREE 10+ Exit Interview Samples in MS Word | Google Docs | Apple Pages | PDF

When we come across the term exit interview, this is normally associated when an employee who decides to resign from a company. The importance of conducting an exit interview is that companies are able to find out the reason why an employee has decided to leave the company and also assess the overall employee experience within your organization and identify opportunities to improve retention and engagement. But of course, exit interviews are not only limited to businesses as they can be conducted in education and government environments. In most cases, the HR department is in charge of conducting these interviews and a set of questions are prepared for the session. So, how does one prepare for an exit interview and what are the most common questions asked? To know more about this, let us discuss this further below. And check out our free exit interview samples that are available on this page, if you need help preparing for one.

10+ Exit Interview Samples

1. Exit Interview Form Template

2. Exit Interview Survey Templates

3. Employee Exit Interview Form Template

4. Staff Exit Interview

5. Exit Interview Questionnaire

6. Exit Interview Policy

7. Members Exit Interview

 

8. Sample Exit Interview Policy & Procedure

9. Student Exit Interview

10. Exit Interview for Volunteers

11. Treatment Court Exit Interview

What Is an Exit Interview?

Once an employee hands over his or her resignation, the HR department then executes a list of requirements or an employee exit checklist is provided to the offboarding employee. This list contains the procedures and documents that an employee needs to accomplish before he or she can officially resign from the company. And one very important session in the employee exit process is conducting an exit interview. There are many benefits and valid reasons why a company’s HR department must conduct this particular interview.

• It provides the opportunity to ask if there are any open issues that the company should be aware of. This can help reduce risk and identify matters that may require immediate attention.
• The reason why the employee is resigning.
• Offboarding employees are able to provide constructive feedback and leave on a positive note.
• Improvement opportunities in management development.
• Feedback will help you to identify areas that can help improve staff retention.

How To Prepare an Exit Interview?

When an employee chooses to resign, there may be several reasons why they choose to do so and companies have no hold on such a decision. In some cases, management would try to offer better opportunities if they want to retain their employees, but if the employee is resolved to resign, companies often seek to understand their reasons. And an interview can uncover these details. This can also benefit an employee, giving them the chance to speak openly about their experience working in the company. So whether you run a small or large company, exit interviews provide an opportunity for an employee to discuss the workplace environment, concerns about misconduct, or issues within management. To help you conduct and prepare an exit interview for your employee, here are several steps you should consider doing:

1. Employee Exit Checklist

Once an employee hands over a resignation letter, make sure to forward an employee exit checklist which of course includes an exit interview. Make sure to schedule this midway or a week before the employee leaves the office for good.

2. Interviewer

In most cases, the HR department conducts the interview since they can provide an unbiased atmosphere for the employee to share their thoughts. They can also take unique action as a result of the feedback they receive during the exit interview.

3. Prepare Your Questions

You must be able to prepare your questions in advance in order to have a smooth sailing conversation with the employee. Questions that are often asked are reasons why the employee has decided to resign, what could the company have done better, questions regarding the employee’s workload, supervisors, colleagues, and work environment, the positive and negative experiences while working in the company, and many others. Make sure the questions you have are all relevant to the company and to the employee. In some cases, if there are circumstances that would prevent a face-to-face interview, an exit interview form is forwarded to the employee for him or her to fill up instead.

4. During the Interview

Make sure to be neutral and passive with all your questions and how you react to the employee’s answers. Also, don’t forget to ask permission from the employee if they are open to you sharing their specific feedback with others in the workplace, like their direct supervisor or the executive in charge of their department. No matter what, you should assure the employee that anything they want to remain private will be.

5. Complaints

In case an employee airs out their complaints, do follow protocol for any allegations of harassment or discrimination. Even if the employee is leaving, it is important to always investigate any complaints as you would if the staff member were to remain employed at the organization.

6. Data from the Interview

Make sure that the data gathered from the interview will be able to provide information that can help the company improve for the better in terms of employment management and its working environment.

FAQs

One of the best methods of fully understanding the reason why your employees are resigning is by conducting an exit interview. Which also one way or the other gives a company insight into their working environment and addresses issues that would help change the company for the better.