Top 50 Insightful Exit Interview Questions To Improve Retention

Employee experience isn’t only limited to when the employee is working with the organization. It goes quite beyond that. After an employee decides to move on from the organization, it is ideal to conduct an exit interview to understand their thoughts about the work at your organization. Not only does it make the employee feel valued, but it also builds goodwill for your organization. Understanding their views can help organizations improve their organizational practices and enhance the experience for other employees.  

Most organizations today are considering conducting exit interviews for it will aid the organization in gaining insight into employee experience, exposing any flaws in the company's processes and culture, evaluating management, and providing suggestions for enhancing employee retention. Exit interviews are conducted by more than 90% of Fortune 500 organizations, although only around 40% of them consider the procedure to be successful. One reason this could be happening is because they aren't selecting the right set of questions to ask. 

What Is an Exit Interview?  

In contrast to a formal interview, an exit interview is more of a conversation. It is carried out for an employee who has decided to quit the organization. It's the opposite of a job interview in that employees are questioned about the reason behind their resignation instead of the reason they decided to join the organization. 

Conducting exit interviews is a smart practice since it evaluates: 

• The reason for the employee's departure from the company. 

• Employee opinions on what should be improved to boost employee engagement, performance, and loyalty. 
• The advantages and disadvantages of working at the organization. 

Who Conducts an Exit Interview? 

To preserve anonymity and encourage honest evaluation, the interviews are conducted preferably by someone from within the company or outsourced to a third party. Most companies prefer that the interview be conducted by a member of their own HR department. There are two important considerations to make when choosing the individual who will conduct the interview: 

1. They should be familiar with the working of your company.
2. They should be familiar with the individuals involved. 

This is done to guarantee that a deeper comprehension of topics is developed as well as the ability to raise more pointed questions. 

51 Questions That You Can Ask in an Exit Interview 

Organization related 

1. What can we do to improve our company's training and development program? 
2. Are there any employee benefits that you believe should have been provided but weren't? 
3. How would you define the organization's general management style? 
4. What would you say our company's culture is like? 
5. What could we do differently or better to make our firm more appealing to you? 
6. Do you think you'd like to work for our org in the future? 
7. How do our compensation and benefits stack up against your new firm? Were pay and benefits a major consideration in your decision? 
8. Do you believe our company/product/services are on the correct track to be innovative and market-competitive? If not, why not? 
9. What would you alter about your company if you had the chance? 
10. Why did you initially choose to work for our organization? 
11. Do you have any issues with the rewards and benefits provided by the company? 
12. Have you ever been the victim of workplace discrimination or harassment? 
13. Is the company currently inventive enough? 
14. Do you believe our present policies on diversity and inclusion are adequate? 

Work related 

1. What are the benefits of your new job that influenced your decision to leave? 
2. What could have been done differently? 
3. Did you get enough training to be able to accomplish your work well? 
4. Was your workload typically light, diverse, just right, or excessive? Please elaborate. 
5. Were you confident in your ability to perform the work? 
6. What portion of your job did you enjoy the most? 
7. What were the three most difficult challenges you faced while working here? 
8. Do you believe you were given all of the tools and instructions you needed to succeed? 
9. What would you alter about your job if you had the chance? 
10. Were you given enough responsibilities and autonomy to make your job satisfying and enjoyable? If not, what could have been done differently? 
11. What was your most productive day at work? 
12. What was your worst day at work like? 
13. Do you believe your job responsibilities have changed since you were hired? 
14. Have you ever been burned out at work because of your job or the environment you work in? 
15. Was your mental health and well-being taken into consideration at work? 
16. Do you think remote work improves or degrades work-life balance? 
17. Has the company taken enough measures to ensure a smooth transition into hybrid work? 

Employee-employer relationship and Team related 

1. How frequently did you receive performance feedback from your supervisor? Were they helpful? 
2. What kind of feedback did you get from your manager? 
3. How would you characterize your manager's leadership style? 
4. Did you share your concerns with anyone at the company prior to leaving? 
5. Did you feel like you were an important part of the team? 
6. Were you at ease speaking with human resources in case of a problem? 
7. Was one of the reasons you left your job because of your coworkers? 
8. How helpful was your team at your job? 
9. What problems did you have when working with your manager? 
10. How often did you see your team or have team meetings?  
11. Who made a significant difference to your employee experience, if anyone? 

Miscellaneous 

1. What could we have done to keep you here? 
2. What motivated you to start looking for a new job? 
3. What do you like the least about working here?  
4. What was the driving force behind your search for other employment? 
5. Did you feel like you have a clear route for career advancement and growth chances here? If not, what could have been done differently? 
6. What attributes should we seek in your replacement, according to you? 
7. Were you able to achieve both your personal and company objectives? 
8. Do you think the way promotion criteria are handled right now is fair and unbiased? 
9. Have you noticed that your employment role has remained static, with no room for advancement? 
   

Conclusion 

Exit interviews are best conducted a few days before or after an employee quits the organization to obtain more valuable insights. It's because employees' views of their work, their team, and the company as a whole are still fresh in their minds, and they're usually eager to share their final opinions before leaving. You may use the above questionnaire in conjunction with the timelines specified to receive the most advantage while also adding value to a departing employee. 

Also if you want to improve retention for your organization, schedule a demo with us today!