Exit Interview Checklist

Pull the employee's personnel file and review their hiring date, role progression, performance reviews, any past complaints or commendations, and reason for departure to prepare informed and relevant questions.

Arrange the exit interview during the employee's final week, in a private setting away from their team. Offer flexibility on timing and format, including virtual options for remote employees.

Use the company's standard exit interview template to ensure consistency across all departures. Customize a few questions based on the employee's specific role, department, and circumstances of departure.

Email the employee a brief overview of the exit interview purpose and general topics that will be discussed, so they can reflect and prepare thoughtful responses rather than being caught off guard.

Prepare to communicate how the employee's feedback will be used, who will have access to their responses, and what level of anonymity will be maintained in any reports generated from the interview data.

Ask the employee how well their day-to-day responsibilities matched their job description and expectations, and whether they felt their skills and talents were fully utilized in their role.

Inquire about whether the employee had sufficient resources, technology, training, and support to perform their job effectively, and what improvements would have made a meaningful difference.

Discuss whether the employee felt their workload was manageable, if overtime was excessive, and whether the company's work-life balance policies and practices met their needs and expectations.

Ask about the employee's experience with team collaboration, workplace culture, inclusivity, and whether they felt a sense of belonging and psychological safety within their team and the broader organization.

Collect feedback on the employee's workspace conditions, whether office-based or remote, including equipment quality, office environment, remote work policies, and any improvements they would suggest.

Ask the employee to share their honest assessment of their direct manager's leadership style, communication, availability, fairness in decision-making, and ability to support professional growth.

Discuss whether the employee received regular, constructive performance feedback, how well their achievements were recognized, and whether they felt their manager invested in their career development.

Explore the employee's perception of senior leadership's transparency, strategic decision-making, communication of company vision, and overall confidence in the organization's direction and future.

Ask about any workplace conflicts the employee experienced or observed, how they were handled, and whether the resolution processes felt fair, timely, and effective.

Inquire about the employee's views on the fairness of promotion decisions, compensation practices, and recognition programs, and whether they felt meritocracy was genuinely practiced.

Ask the employee to share the main factors that led to their decision to leave, distinguishing between push factors within the company and pull factors from their new opportunity.

Explore whether there were specific changes in compensation, role, management, culture, or growth opportunities that could have influenced the employee to stay, and when they first considered leaving.

Ask the employee what advice they would give to company leadership about reducing turnover and improving the employee experience, drawing on their own observations and those of their colleagues.

Ask the employee whether they would recommend the organization as a good place to work and why or why not. This serves as a Net Promoter Score indicator for employer brand health.

Discuss whether the employee would consider returning to the company in the future and whether they would like to join the company's alumni network to maintain a professional connection.

Transcribe or summarize the employee's feedback immediately after the interview while details are fresh. Use the standardized form to ensure responses are captured consistently for trend analysis.

Analyze the feedback to extract specific, actionable insights that could inform changes to management practices, policies, compensation, culture, or working conditions within the employee's former department.

Compile the key findings into an anonymized summary and share it with the employee's former department head and HR business partner, highlighting areas of concern that warrant attention.

Enter the interview data into the exit interview tracking system and update quarterly trend reports to identify patterns in departure reasons, departmental hotspots, and recurring organizational issues.

Based on the accumulated exit interview data, prepare recommendations for leadership on targeted interventions such as manager training, compensation adjustments, or policy changes to address root causes of turnover.