The ultimate exit survey template and interview guide: Turn farewells into wins

So, you’re here because an employee is leaving. While it might feel like a loss, it’s actually a golden opportunity. This is your chance to gather honest feedback and turn a departure into a powerful tool for growth.

This guide will walk you through conducting effective exit interviews and provide a template to ensure you capture the insights that matter. Let’s get started.

What is an exit interview?

Let’s be real—saying goodbye to an employee is rarely the highlight of anyone’s week. But viewing it merely as an administrative tick-box exercise is a massive missed opportunity.

An exit interview is your final formal conversation with a departing team member. It isn’t just about collecting keys and laptops; it is a critical moment to gather raw, unfiltered feedback. When an employee has one foot out the door, they are often more willing to speak their truth than they ever were during their tenure.

This conversation turns a departure into a learning opportunity. It helps you understand the “why” behind the “goodbye,” giving you the data you need to fix cracks in your foundation before more talent slips through.

Benefits of using an exit survey template

Wing it, and you will miss the point. Relying on “gut feeling” or casual chats means you lose the ability to spot patterns. If every manager asks different questions, you end up with a pile of anecdotal evidence that tells you nothing about the bigger picture.

Standardizing your approach with a consistent template changes the game. It allows you to:

• Spot trends: Are people leaving because of pay, management or lack of growth? Data makes it obvious.
• Reduce bias: Every departing employee gets the same platform to share their experience.
• Save time: Managers don’t need to reinvent the wheel for every departure.
• Benchmark progress: You can compare feedback year-over-year to see if your retention strategies are actually working.

How to create an employee exit interview template

Building an effective template isn’t rocket science, but it does require balance. You need structured data (numbers you can track) mixed with open dialogue (stories you can learn from).

A strong template should include:

• The basics: Name, role, department and tenure.
• The core rating: Simple scales (1–5 or 1–10) on key areas like management, pay and culture.
• The deep dive: Open-ended questions that prompt the employee to elaborate.
• The future: Questions about whether they would recommend the company or return in the future.

Don’t overcomplicate it. If the survey takes an hour to complete, you won’t get thoughtful answers—you’ll get someone rushing to the finish line. Keep it sharp, relevant and focused on actionable insights.

Best practices for conducting exit interviews

The “who,” “where” and “how” matter just as much as the “what.” If the departing employee feels defensive or unheard, the data is useless.

• Create psychological safety: Ideally, have someone other than the direct manager conduct the interview (like HR or a neutral leader). People rarely tell their boss exactly why they are firing them.
• Listen more than you talk: This isn’t the time to defend company policy or argue about their perception. Your job is to listen, validate and record.
• Time it right: Don’t do it on the day they resign (too emotional) or their very last hour (too checked out). Aim for the sweet spot in their final week.
• Make it optional but encouraged: You can’t force candor. Frame it as a chance for them to leave a positive legacy for their former teammates.

Questions to ask departing employees

To get the truth, you need to ask the right questions. Here is a breakdown of what to cover.

Reasons for leaving

Don’t just accept “better opportunity” as an answer. Probe deeper gently.

• What triggered your decision to start looking for a new role?
• Was there a specific event that led to your resignation?

Compensation and benefits

Money talks, but it isn’t always the only reason people walk.

• How would you rate our compensation package compared to the market?
• Did our benefits package meet your personal needs?

Job satisfaction

• Did the job align with what was described to you during the hiring process?
• What did you enjoy most about your role here?

Skills and advancement

• Did you feel your skills were being effectively utilized?
• Did you see a clear path for career progression within the company?

Training and development

• Did you have the tools and resources you needed to do your job well?
• Did you feel supported in your professional growth?

Challenges and successes

• What was the biggest hurdle you faced in getting your job done?
• What achievement are you most proud of during your time here?

Work environment and morale

• How would you describe the culture of your team?
• Did you feel a sense of belonging here?

Management and supervision

• Did you feel supported by your direct manager?
• How could your manager have better supported your success?

Company policies and communication

• Were company goals and updates communicated clearly to you?
• Did you feel company policies were applied fairly?

Final reflections

• If you could change one thing about the company, what would it be?
• Would you recommend this company to a friend as a great place to work?
• Under what circumstances would you consider returning?

Ensuring anonymity in exit interviews

Fear of burning bridges is the enemy of honest feedback. If an employee thinks their comments will be read aloud at the next team meeting, they will give you generic, polite answers.

Be explicitly clear about who sees the data. Assure them that aggregate themes will be shared with leadership, but specific comments will be kept confidential unless they allege serious misconduct (like harassment or safety violations). Building this trust is the only way to get the unvarnished truth.

Using open-ended questions to gather insights

Yes/no questions give you stats; open-ended questions give you context. A rating of “3 out of 5” for management tells you there is room for improvement. The comment “My manager cancelled our 1:1s for six weeks straight” tells you exactly how to improve.

Move beyond the checkbox. Ask “Why?” and “Can you give me an example?” These qualitative nuggets are often where the real gold is buried. They provide the narrative you need to convince leadership to make changes.

Supporting departing employees during the transition

How you treat people on the way out says more about your culture than how you treat them on the way in. Offboarding shouldn’t feel like an eviction.

Manage the transition with respect and professionalism. Celebrate their contributions. Ensure the hand-over process is smooth, not chaotic. When employees leave feeling supported and valued, they become “corporate alumni” who refer clients and talent—and maybe even return someday as “boomerang” employees.

Leveraging exit interviews to improve the employee experience

Collecting data and doing nothing with it is a waste of everyone’s time. The goal isn’t to fill a filing cabinet; it is to drive action.

Review exit interview data quarterly. Look for the smoke before there is a fire. If three people from the same department mention burnout, you have a workload issue. If multiple people mention lack of training, you have a development gap. Use these insights to build a business case for retention initiatives, whether that is a salary review, a new L&D program or a culture reset.

Identifying development opportunities through exit feedback

Sometimes, you lose great people simply because they outgrew you. That is a tough pill to swallow, but it is also a huge learning opportunity.

If exit feedback consistently points to a “lack of growth,” your internal mobility pathways are broken. Use this feedback to refine your career frameworks. Can you offer more lateral moves? Can you implement mentorship programs? By fixing the exit ramps, you build better on-ramps for the team members who stay, showing them they don’t have to leave to level up.

It’s time to make employment easier

Exit interviews are more than just a farewell formality; they’re a goldmine of insights that can transform your retention strategy. By listening, learning and acting on that feedback, you can build a workplace where great people don’t just survive, they thrive.

Ready to turn those tough goodbyes into game-changing growth? Employment Hero gives you the tools to manage everything from feedback and development to payroll and benefits, all in one place. Take the guesswork out of employment and build a business your team will never want to leave.