Your Recommendations For The Future
After all of your reflection, voice some concrete recommendations to your former employer. This is likely the part of your exit interview your former employer will pay most attention to. Keeping honesty in mind, let your ideas be known.
Do you have an idea of how scheduling could work better? Should some of your job responsibilities belong to someone in another department? Voice it. Your words will likely impact existing and future employees.
Take Actions To Get Ahead Of Other Employee Departures
An ounce of prevention is worth several pounds of cure when it comes to employee retention, and its always better to find out about issues before they result in resignations. Here are some steps you can take to identify issues before they mushroom into real problems.
Creating a workplace in which people thrive is a continuous process, and your employees can help you continually improve the work experience, resulting in improvements to both business performance and employee retention.
Employee engagement = lower turnover. Retain your employees.
Would You Recommend Working Here To Others
This question is a way to see how you truly feel about the company. If you had a great time there, why wouldnt you recommend people?
When answering this question, you can be provide examples of when you would and wouldnt recommend working there.
Example AnswerI would recommend this job if it matched someones career goals and aspirations. Its not for everyone. But for those looking to gain experience in this field, its a great opportunity to do so.
You May Like: How To Interview A Web Developer
What Are You Most Proud Of From Your Time In This Role
As with the first question, this one can enable a positive conversation and be useful for identifying how your organization contributes to employeesâ sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Listen for details on projects they completed, training they undertook, outcomes they were able to achieve, and any recognition they may have received. Also be sure to ask what they enjoyed about these accomplishments and what made them feel proud.
Were You Comfortable Talking To Your Manager
The unique thing about this question is that it reveals details about two individualsthe outgoing employee and the manager.
First and foremost, you can use the information you glean from the employees answer to improve the performance and development of the manager who still works for your company. Second, you can use the information to help in finding a new employee for the team.
Recommended Reading: What To Ask When Interviewing Someone
Best Exit Interview Questions
What makes for the best exit interview questions? The best exit interview questions get to the heart of why employees leave and what can be done about it.
Below youll find examples of some of the best exit interview questions that weve seen, which can replace some of the questions in the sample exit interview above.
- What were the most important factors in choosing another job? Salary? Benefits? Time-off? Company culture? Something else?
- What does your new company provide that we dont?
- What advice would you give to new hires at our company?
- What changes to your job would have made you stay at our company?
- What were the three biggest challenges you experienced when working at our company?
- How would you describe our company culture to one of your closest friends?
Different Ways To Hold An Exit Interview
Face-to-face exit interviews give the departing employee a chance to truly express themselves, but some employees may feel intimidated or uncomfortable speaking with someone in person. Some prefer to conduct exit interviews over the phone or through a survey.
No matter how you choose to hold the exit interview, its important that the individual feels comfortable and open to being honest with their feedback. Here are some of your options for conducting an exit interview.
Read Also: How To Write Email Thank You For Interview
What Did You Enjoy Most About Working Here
If you have negative feelings, it may be hard to remember what you liked. But try to think of one aspect of your job that was fulfilling.
Something.
Anything.
- If you enjoyed the team: I enjoyed the camaraderie among the team. It was fun to play on the company softball team together.
- If youre trying to stay positive: The mission of this company is inspiring, and Im glad I was able to contribute to that significant work.
- If you want to throw your coworkers a bone: Our group worked hard during that product launch, and I admire the strong work ethic of my coworkers.
- If you cant think of anything else: I loved Bagel Tuesdays!
As you head into a new position, take a few minutes to understand and create your Job Happiness Plan so you can be more productive, engaged, and likable at your new company.
Did You Share Any Of These Concerns With Any Member Of The Management Before Deciding To Leave
Before ending the exit interview, ensure to ask the departing employee this question. It goes a long way to show your companys attitude toward employee feedback.
If the employees answer is yes, then it may signal that the company, especially managers, are treating employee feedback or complaints with levity. It may also mean that the company is not requesting feedback from employees enough.
Where the answer is negative, you should reflect on your companys work culture to see if the environment is safe enough for employees to feel comfortable and confident voicing their concerns without fear of negative consequences.
Also Check: How To Dress For An Interview
Exit Interview Questions For An Internship
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
Related: How to Navigate an Exit Interview
Well show you how to navigate an exit interview so that you can leave on good terms plus include four common exit interview questions with sample responses.
Oftentimes, employers conduct exit interviews with individuals after an internship to help them understand both the highlights and areas for improvement with the internship. It gives interns a chance to provide valuable feedback about the internship and offer helpful suggestions for future interns. If you’re completing an internship, reviewing the topics that employers may ask in the exit interview can help you familiarize yourself with the questions and prepare your answers. In this article, we discuss what an exit interview for an internship is and provide potential questions that employers may ask, with example answers.
Did You Feel You Were Kept Up To Date On New Developments And Company Policies
Transparency is important for any good organization. Before theyre out the door, use this opportunity to find out whether your exiting employees felt like they were a valued part of the company, and how much transparency they felt there was from the management team. If one employee felt as though they were on the outside looking in, chances are there are more who feel the same way knowing this can help you address the issue before it becomes a bigger problem.
Don’t Miss: C# Interview Questions For Experienced Professionals
Did You Feel Supported By Your Manager
Heres another exit interview question that you want to approach carefully. No matter what, avoid bad-mouthing your managers. If there are issues with that leaders management style, the company likely already knows about it.
If your relationship was good, dont hesitate to say that. But if it was not great, acknowledge that while finding something positive to say.
Example AnswerI didnt always see eye-to-eye with my manager, but they provided enough support to help us complete several projects successfully.
Exit Interview Questions For Nonprofits
Employees at nonprofits often choose your organization because they believe in the mission and cause.
Use these questions to determine whether your initial hire was the right fit for your organization, and what you can do prevent other employees to seek alternative employment.
- Why did you initially choose to work for our organization?
- Did you feel passionate about our mission and your work? Please explain.
- What was your biggest reason for seeking alternative employment?
- How would you compare our salary and benefits to the roles you were evaluating?
- Did you experience any issues with our work culture? What are some ideas for making our work culture even better?
- How could we improve your role and others to prevent more great employees like you from seeking alternative employment?
- Did you feel you were given enough responsibility and support to succeed? If no, please explain.
- How could our company change in the future to get you to return?
- Would you recommend our organization to a friend or other colleagues? If no, how can we improve so that we would be a place you recommend?
Recommended Reading: Scheduling An Interview Email Template
Why Is Conducting Exit Interviews And Surveys Important
The hiring process is expensive and can take a long time. If at the end of it you employ people who stay with your company only briefly:
- You waste time and money on recruitment
- Every time someone leaves, a bit of company knowledge or process goes with them
- Leavers may also be detractors, affecting your companys reputation
By providing departing employees with the opportunity to give honest feedback, you can gather valuable insights to improve the employee experience for both current and future employees.
Typically, only about a third of employees leaving an organization complete an exit interview. Given the potential richness of exit information, all employers would benefit from encouraging every leaver to respond to exit surveys.
An exit survey is a means to an end. The goal is not to prevent the employee from leaving. Instead, it is to learn and use it to gain insights to help retain talent, prevent bad hires, improve management practices, and ultimately drive better organizational performance.
It really does pay dividends in the long run to invest time, energy, and care into finding out why people are leaving, in order to minimize future attrition.
The Way To Conduct An Exit Interview
Exit interviews cannot be conducted in a done-and-dusted way. Once an employee submits their resignation, the exit interview must be scheduled way before the last day. An interview scheduled in advance helps to understand the scope of retention as well as any challenges the employee may have faced. The interview can be conducted by HR or any manager who is neutral and empathetic. The employee can refuse to share feedback
Exit interviews are usually conducted in person so that many aspects of employment can be clarified. However, many organizations also use questionnaires, and online surveys or conduct telephone or video interviews. A combination of a questionnaire and an interview can also be used. Some questionnaires have a rating scale for various aspects of employee satisfaction.
An exit interview template can be created containing questions about the following aspects:
- Reason for resignation
- Satisfaction with the job role, salary, and manager
- Comfort with the work culture
- Met and unmet expectations
It is not enough to just gather data from exiting employees. It is important to analyze data and trends in employee turnover to make changes in your existing process, leadership styles or employee engagement.
You May Like: How To Answer Manager Interview Questions
What Was Your Favorite Part Of Working At Our Company
Alternative Question: What did you liked most working here?
Another important question, this is where HR professionals are trying to find out what employees like about the company, in order to increase employee retention, and to improve employee morale.
Since at is your last day at work, its possible that you will remember the bad and not the good. Dont target anyone because you never know what the future holds and you might have to come back.
For example, just say that you liked the weekly meetings, the general work environment, or that you could approach the manager any time without booking an appointment.
Boast About Your New Position
You absolutely want to be honest about your reason for leaving, and if its because youve landed a position that pays better or feels more purposeful, say it. But you dont need to spend half the interview boasting about how amazing your new opportunity is.
If you compare the two jobs, explain how your old company can improve to be as favorable as your new one.
Don’t Miss: What Questions Do You Ask In An Interview
Making Exit Interviews Count
In the knowledge economy, skilled employees are the assets that drive organizational success. Thus companies must learn from themwhy they stay, why they leave, and how the organization needs to change. A thoughtful exit interviewwhether it be a face-to-face conversation, a questionnaire, a survey, or a combinationcan catalyze leaders listening skills, reveal what does or doesnt work inside the organization, highlight hidden challenges and opportunities, and generate essential competitive intelligence. It can promote engagement and enhance retention by signaling to employees that their views matter. And it can turn departing employees into corporate ambassadors for years to come.
Unfortunately, too few leaders pay attention to this tool their programs fail to either improve retention or produce useful information. The authors believe this is owing to poor data quality and a lack of consensus on best practices. They suggest six overall goals for a strategic exit interview process and describe tactics and techniques to make it successful. Among their recommendations: Have interviews conducted by second- or third-line managers. Make exit interviews mandatory for at least some employees. And because standard interviews enable you to spot trends, but unstructured ones elicit unexpected insights, consider combining the two approaches in semistructured interviews.
Idea in Brief
The Need
The Opportunity
The Challenge
What Did You Like Best And Least About Your Job
Its too late to measure employee satisfaction, but its a one-of-a-kind opportunity to ask what the companys most robust and weakest sides are. Such insights are a valuable tool for HR teams as they can use them to convince future employees to accept their offer. Importantly, we can count on honest feedback during the exit interview.
Recommended Reading: How To Type A Thank You Letter After An Interview
Were You Satisfied With The Way You Were Managed
Companies conduct exit interviews also to find out how managers perform their duties. Repeated negative feedback about a particular supervisor should illuminate a red alarm light in management heads.
It may work the other way as well. Exiting employee may praise their manager and decide to part ways with the company on other grounds .
Next Learn Survey Complaints To Avoid
And there you have it. We hope this list of must-ask exit survey questions helps you create a great questionnaire that lets you discover what youre doing right for your employees as well as what you could improve on.
For some ideas on what not to do on your surveys, check out our guide to the top complaints customers have about online surveys.
Recommended Reading: Cracking The Pm Interview Audible
Would You Consider Coming Back To Work Here In The Future In What Area Or Function What Would Need To Change
Find out if employees would ever consider coming back. It could be that they just want to gain experience in a particular role, or may want an increase in compensation. Regardless, this is great information to have if different roles of interest open up.
How managers at your organization interview candidates matters and will show up in company reviews. To get involved in the conversation on Glassdoor and start managing and promoting your employer brand reputation, unlock your Free Employer Profile today.
From the Resource Library
Gain Insight Into Managers Leadership Styles And Effectiveness
This equips the organization to reinforce positive managers and identify toxic ones. One executive at a major restaurant chain told us that several exit interviews shed recently conducted revealed that micromanagement was a big problem. The conversations, she said, led to some very tangible outcomes, such as establishing training and development initiatives to create better managers.
Also Check: How To Send Interview Thank You Email
Top Questions To Ask About Training And Professional Development
Think of each new opportunity not just as a job, but as the next step on your path to career success. Will this position help you get there?
- What does your onboarding process look like?
- What learning and professional development opportunities are available to your employees?
- Will there be opportunities for stretch assignments where I can learn and use new skills?
- Are there opportunities for advancement within the company?
- Would I be able to represent the company at industry conferences?
- Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to?
What Could We Have Done Better
Again, this may seem similar to question three, but the answer explores a different side of the issue. Say, for example, that an employee responded to question three with, more professional development opportunities. That answer insinuates that the number of opportunities is important.
But when asked question number four, he may offer this advice: Actively promote professional development and motivate employees to reach out. So maybe its not the number of opportunities you offer, but the promotion of those opportunities that is the real key. Asking both questions in tandem can reveal these finer points.
Read Also: How To Give An Exit Interview
Did You Receive Enough Feedback To Improve Your Work Was It Constructive Enough
Employees without adequate and timely feedback may feel lost, stuck, and stagnant, which is one of the biggest reasons for their exit.
Employees may not get enough constructive feedback to see what went wrong and what they can do to improve. The feedback sometimes appears offensive and destructive, too. Heres a question that will help you improve your performance review process and make it more constructive.
