Loading page
All-in-one HR platform · v2.0
14-day free trial · No credit cardhello@HrMagix.com
All-in-one HR platform · v2.0
14-day free trial · No credit cardhello@HrMagix.com
Most exit interviews fail without anyone noticing. The leaver is polite, says the opportunity was too good to refuse, the notes go into a folder, and nobody reads them again. The interview happened; nothing was learned.
The fix is not a longer questionnaire. It is deciding who asks, when, what is recorded in a form that can be compared across people, and who is responsible for reading the results. This guide covers the conversation itself and the work around it that makes it worth having.
01
The single biggest influence on how candid a leaver is, is who sits across the table. If the reason for leaving is the manager, an interview with the manager will produce a courteous fiction.
An HR person outside the leaver's reporting line is the usual choice. In a small company with no HR function, a founder or a senior person from another team can do it, provided the leaver does not report to them and does not expect to need a reference from them.
Watch for itTell the leaver who will see what they say. A promise of confidentiality you cannot keep, because a serious allegation must be acted on, is worse than no promise.
02
Too early and the leaver is still negotiating, or still unsure whether a counter-offer is coming. On the last day they are handing over, collecting clearances and saying goodbye, and the interview becomes a box to tick.
A slot in the final week or two, after handover is underway, tends to work. Some employers add a short written follow-up a month or two after exit, when the person has nothing left to lose and has some distance. If you do this, keep it to a handful of questions.
03
Open questions give you texture; fixed questions give you something you can count. Use both. A short set of rated questions asked identically of every leaver, followed by open questions that let the person explain.
Avoid questions that invite a polite answer, such as 'Did you enjoy working here?'. Ask about specific things the person experienced and specific moments when they started to think about leaving.
04
Start by explaining the purpose and what will happen to the answers. Then let the person talk. Follow up on anything specific: a name, a project, a month. Specifics are what make an exit note useful later.
Do not argue, defend decisions or try to change the person's mind in this meeting. If the leaver raises something that sounds like harassment, discrimination, fraud or a safety issue, stop treating it as feedback. It is a complaint, and it goes into the relevant procedure with the person's knowledge.
Watch for itAn allegation of sexual harassment raised in an exit interview should be routed to the Internal Committee process, not filed as exit feedback. See the guide on setting up a POSH Internal Committee.
05
Write the notes on the same day, under fixed headings: primary reason for leaving, secondary reasons, ratings, specific incidents, and whether the person would consider returning. Use a short, fixed list of reason codes so that 'better pay', 'compensation' and 'salary' do not become three categories.
Keep the record with the employee's file, with access limited to HR. Exit notes often contain comments about named colleagues, and treating them as general reading material undermines the next leaver's willingness to be honest.
06
A single exit interview is an anecdote. Twenty, grouped by team, manager, tenure band and reason code, are evidence. Review them on a fixed schedule, quarterly is common, alongside attrition numbers for the same period.
Report the patterns, not the individuals. 'Four of six leavers from one team in the last two quarters cited unclear role changes' is something a leadership team can act on. A list of quotes attributed to named people is not, and it will not stay confidential.
Every guide ends here rather than in a summary. If a line below is not true yet, that is the next thing to do.
You can make the meeting part of the exit process, but you cannot make anyone answer candidly. Offer it as standard, explain why it matters, and accept a short or declined interview without consequence.
Usually not. If the manager is part of the reason for leaving, the leaver is unlikely to say so to them. Someone in HR or a senior person outside the reporting line tends to get more useful answers.
Treat it as a complaint rather than feedback. Explain that it has to be looked into, and route it to the appropriate process, such as a workplace investigation or, for sexual harassment, the Internal Committee.
A form gives you comparable ratings, but people rarely explain the real reason in writing. A short form plus a conversation works better than either alone.
The checklist above is generic by necessity. Bring your own structures, states and rota and we will tell you which lines are already true and which are not.
14-day free trial · Full access to all 12 modules · Zero implementation fee · Cancel anytime