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Exit Interview Questionnaire Template

An exit interview questionnaire is a structured set of questions asked of a departing employee near their last day, covering why they are leaving, how they experienced their manager and the organisation, and whether they would recommend or return to the company. Employers use it to surface patterns worth acting on, not to relitigate one person's decision to go.

Last updated

Send or schedule this once someone has resigned and a leave date is confirmed, giving them time to answer honestly rather than rushing it into their final afternoon. Treat individual answers with care and confidentiality, and remember that one departing employee's answers are a data point - the pattern across many exits is where the real signal is.

01 Copy & adapt — replace every [placeholder]

Departure Details

Departing employee: [NAME] - role: [JOB TITLE] - last day: [DATE]

Interview format: [IN PERSON / VIDEO CALL / WRITTEN SURVEY]

Conducted by: [NAME, TYPICALLY NOT THE DIRECT MANAGER]

Confidentiality note: your individual answers are [KEPT CONFIDENTIAL / SHARED ONLY IN AGGREGATE] and used to improve how we work

Reason for Leaving

Primary reason for leaving: [OPEN TEXT OR CHOOSE FROM A LIST YOU MAINTAIN]

What first prompted you to start looking? [OPEN TEXT]

Was there a specific moment that made the decision final? [OPEN TEXT]

Is there anything that would have changed your mind at that point? [OPEN TEXT]

Manager & Role Experience

How would you describe your relationship with your manager? [OPEN TEXT]

Did the day-to-day role match what you expected when you joined? [YES / NO - DETAILS]

Was this mainly about the role itself, or the organisation more broadly? [ROLE / ORGANISATION / BOTH]

What did you enjoy most about working here? [OPEN TEXT]

Looking Forward

Would you recommend a friend apply to work here? [YES / NO / NOT SURE] - why: [OPEN TEXT]

Would you consider returning in the future? [YES / NO / NOT SURE]

What is one thing we could change for the people staying behind? [OPEN TEXT]

Knowledge Handover & Wrap-Up

Outstanding work and where to find it: [DOCUMENTATION / HANDOVER NOTES LOCATION]

Who should take over ongoing relationships or tasks? [NAME / TEAM]

Anything else you would like to share before you go? [OPEN TEXT]

Confirm final logistics: [LAST-DAY LOGISTICS, EQUIPMENT RETURN, FINAL PAY]

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02 In practice

How to use this template

  1. Schedule the conversation once a leave date is confirmed, leaving enough time before the last day for an honest, unhurried answer.
  2. Have someone other than the departing employee's direct manager conduct it, so answers about that relationship stay candid.
  3. Ask about the reason for leaving before anything else, while the answer is still front of mind and unprompted by later questions.
  4. Capture knowledge handover details in the same conversation so operational continuity does not depend on a separate follow-up.
  5. Log answers into a shared record so patterns across multiple exits can be reviewed together, not filed away one at a time.

Tips

Exit data is only useful in aggregate and acted on - a single answer is one person's view, but the same complaint from several departures in a row is a pattern worth addressing. What you may ask and how you must store the responses varies by jurisdiction, so check what applies locally before finalising your questions. Keep the tone curious rather than defensive; a departing employee who feels interrogated will give shorter, safer answers. Separate questions about the role from questions about the wider organisation - the fix for one is very different from the fix for the other. Review aggregated themes with leadership on a regular cadence, and be able to point to at least one change made because of what people said on the way out.

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FAQ

Exit Interview Questionnaire Template — FAQs

Who should conduct an exit interview?
Usually someone from HR or people operations rather than the departing employee's direct manager, since people are more candid about a manager relationship when that manager is not in the room. If a smaller company has no choice but to use the manager, keep questions about that relationship optional.
Should exit interview answers stay confidential?
Individual answers are usually kept confidential or shared only in aggregate, and you should tell the departing employee exactly which before they answer. What you can legally promise or must retain can vary by jurisdiction, so confirm locally before finalising your wording.
What should we actually do with exit interview data?
Track answers across many exits rather than reacting to any single one, and look for repeated themes such as a specific manager, a specific stage of the employee lifecycle, or a recurring reason for leaving. The value is in the pattern, and in making a visible change once you find one.
Is there a benchmark for a healthy reason-for-leaving mix?
No reliable one - reasons for leaving vary enormously by industry, role, seniority and how the questions are worded. Track your own mix over time and watch how it shifts, rather than comparing it to a number from outside your organisation.
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