How to conduct an exit interview
A complete guide to conducting exit interviews that generate useful feedback. As part of the employee termination process, exit interviews help you ask the right questions and use feedback to improve employee retention.
Written by
Georgia Morgan
This guide provides general information about conducting exit interviews in Australia. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
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Key takeaways
- Hold the exit interview in the final week, ideally led by someone other than the direct manager so feedback is candid
- Work from a consistent template of open-ended questions covering reasons for leaving, role, management, and culture
- Listen more than you talk, assure confidentiality, and document responses objectively without identifying the employee
- Aggregate feedback across interviews to spot patterns and turn recurring themes into action items that lower turnover
What is an exit interview?
An exit interview is a structured conversation with a departing employee — usually held in their final week — to understand why they're leaving and gather honest feedback about their experience. It's a standard step in offboarding, whether the departure is a resignation or end of a fixed term.
Done well, an exit interview gives you candid insight you rarely get from current staff — about management, culture, workload and development — that you can use to reduce turnover and improve the workplace for the people who stay.
Why exit interviews matter
Exit interviews are your opportunity to understand why employees leave and what you can do to improve retention. Departing employees are often more candid than current staff, providing honest insights about your workplace culture, management practices, performance review processes, and areas for improvement.
When done well, exit interviews help you identify patterns, address systemic issues, and make changes that reduce employee turnover. They also leave departing employees with a positive final impression – important for your employer brand and potential future rehires.
6 steps to conducting an exit interview
Follow this process to gather valuable, actionable feedback from departing employees.
Schedule the interview appropriately
Arrange the exit interview for the employee's final days, in a private, neutral setting.
Tips:
- Schedule during the final week, ideally 1-2 days before their last day
- Allow 30-45 minutes for a thorough conversation
- Use a private meeting room, not the manager's office
- Have someone other than the direct manager conduct it if possible
Choose the right interviewer
Select someone the employee can speak openly with, ideally not their direct manager.
Tips:
- HR representative is often the best choice
- A senior manager from another department can work well
- The direct manager may inhibit honest feedback
- Some companies use external consultants for confidentiality
Prepare your questions in advance
Have a structured set of questions to ensure consistent, useful feedback.
Tips:
- Mix open-ended and specific questions
- Cover key areas: role, management, culture, development, reasons for leaving
- Prepare follow-up prompts to dig deeper
- Use a consistent exit interview template for all interviews to track trends
Create a comfortable environment
Help the employee feel safe to provide honest, constructive feedback.
Tips:
- Explain how feedback will be used (anonymised, for improvement)
- Assure them honest feedback won't affect their reference
- Start with easier questions before sensitive topics
- Listen more than you speak – this is about their experience
Conduct the interview professionally
Guide the conversation to gather useful feedback while respecting the employee.
Tips:
- Thank them for their time and contributions
- Ask open questions and let them talk
- Don't argue or become defensive about criticism
- Probe for specifics: "Can you give me an example?"
Document and act on the feedback
Record the insights and use them to improve your workplace.
Tips:
- Take notes or complete a structured exit interview form during/after
- Anonymise feedback before sharing with management
- Look for patterns across multiple exit interviews
- Create action items and track improvements
Exit interview questions by category
Use these questions as a starting point for your exit interview template.
The 5 questions most exit interviews include
- Why are you leaving / what prompted your decision?
- What did you enjoy most and least about your role?
- How would you describe the management and support you received?
- What would have made you stay?
- Would you recommend this company to others?
Reasons for leaving
- What prompted you to start looking for a new role?
- Was there a specific event or decision that influenced your choice to leave?
- What does your new role offer that we didn't?
Role and responsibilities
- Did your role match what was described when you were hired?
- Were your responsibilities clear and achievable?
- Did you have the resources and tools needed to do your job well?
Management and leadership
- How would you describe your relationship with your direct manager?
- Did you receive regular, useful feedback on your performance?
- Did you feel supported in your professional development?
Culture and environment
- How would you describe the workplace culture?
- Did you feel valued and recognised for your contributions?
- Was there anything about the work environment that affected your decision?
Improvements
- What one thing would you change about working here?
- What would have made you stay?
- What advice would you give to your replacement?
Wrap up
- Would you consider returning to work here in the future?
- Would you recommend this company to a friend looking for work?
- Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Exit interview do's and don'ts
Follow these guidelines for productive, professional exit interviews.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Listen actively without interrupting | Argue with or dismiss their feedback |
| Ask follow-up questions for clarity | Make promises you can't keep |
| Thank them for their honesty | Press for names or blame others |
| Keep the conversation professional | Discuss confidential information about others |
| Document feedback objectively | Share verbatim feedback that identifies them |
| Look for patterns across interviews | Overreact to one person's perspective |
Turn feedback into lower turnover
A single exit interview is a data point; the value comes from patterns. Capture every interview in a consistent format using digital HR records so you can review themes each quarter — common reasons for leaving, departments with higher turnover, and recurring culture or management issues.
Don't wait until people resign to listen. Running stay interviews with current employees surfaces the same issues while you can still act on them. Pair that with a smooth offboarding process and a supportive return-to-work approach for those who come back from leave.
Close the loop: turn recurring feedback into action items, assign owners, and track whether the changes move your retention numbers over the next few quarters.
References & further reading
Authoritative Australian guidance on exit interviews and offboarding.
How RosterElf helps with exit interviews
Purpose-built tools to make exit interviews faster, easier, and compliant for Australian businesses.
Related guides
More resources for employee offboarding.
Streamline offboarding
RosterElf HR Hub helps you manage exit interviews, final pay, and offboarding checklists. Built for Australian small businesses.
Frequently asked questions
- The five most common exit interview questions are: (1) Why are you leaving? (2) What did you enjoy most and least about your role? (3) How would you describe the management and support you received? (4) What would have made you stay? (5) Would you recommend this company to others? Use these as the backbone of your template, then add role-specific follow-ups.
- No, exit interviews are not legally required in Australia. However, they're a valuable HR practice for understanding why employees leave and identifying areas for improvement. Many organisations conduct them as standard practice.
- Ideally, someone other than the employee's direct manager – typically an HR representative or a senior leader from another area. Employees are more likely to be honest when speaking to someone they don't report to directly.
- Schedule it during the employee's final week, ideally 1-2 days before their last day. This gives them time to reflect but ensures they're still engaged. Some companies also send a follow-up survey 1-2 weeks after departure.
- Yes, exit interviews should be voluntary. Forcing participation may result in unhelpful responses. If an employee declines, you might offer alternatives like a written survey or the option to provide feedback later.