What is an exit interview?

Glossary/E/Exit Interview

An exit interview is an HR practice where an exiting employee shares feedback on their experience as an employee. It highlights reasons for leaving the job, things employees liked about their tenure with the organization, and helps HR departments identify areas of improvement.

Exit interviews can be conducted as one-on-one Q&A sessions conducted online or in-person, or as a form handed over to employees on their last day with the organization. Conducting exit interviews on a regular basis can help organizations compile data and use the insights to improve work culture.

Not to be confused with:

stay interview

Stay interview is a meeting with an employee to understand what part of the organizational culture motivates them to stay and keeps them engaged with their job role.

exit survey

An exit survey is a research method that collects data from employees via an objective questionnaire about the organizational culture and their job role.

Not to be confused with:

stay interview

Stay interview is a meeting with an employee to understand what part of the organizational culture motivates them to stay and keeps them engaged with their job role.

exit survey

An exit survey is a research method that collects data from employees via an objective questionnaire about the organizational culture and their job role.

stay interview

Stay interview is a meeting with an employee to understand what part of the organizational culture motivates them to stay and keeps them engaged with their job role.

exit survey

An exit survey is a research method that collects data from employees via an objective questionnaire about the organizational culture and their job role.

stay interview

Stay interview is a meeting with an employee to understand what part of the organizational culture motivates them to stay and keeps them engaged with their job role.

exit survey

An exit survey is a research method that collects data from employees via an objective questionnaire about the organizational culture and their job role.

Stay interview is a meeting with an employee to understand what part of the organizational culture motivates them to stay and keeps them engaged with their job role. A stay interview aims to find the pros of the organizational culture and is conducted regardless of whether or not an employee is planning to leave.

An exit survey is a research method that collects data from employees via an objective questionnaire about the organizational culture and their job role. Exit surveys highlight objective questionnaires based on market research, bring out raw data, and are a lot more personal than exit interviews.

How can you conduct an effective employee exit interview?

Be attentive

Attentively listening to the interview responses can give you the opportunity to read between the lines and see if their body language matches their words. Spotting subtle changes in the meaning and tone can be key to finding the information you’re looking for.

Make the employee comfortable

Making the exiting employee comfortable ensures honest feedback from their end. Comfortable employees share their ideas openly, do not shy away from criticizing any practices they dislike, and give insights that are useful for organizations.

Use insights to eradicate anxiety

HR teams should collect useful feedback and data from multiple exit interviews and use it to remove any anxiety present in existing employees. This data can help improve the organizational culture by removing any factors that add to grievances.