Exit Interview Questions and Survey Template
Written for someone who has already resigned. Only question 1 is required, so even a rushed leaver tells you why.
- 14questions
- About 4 minto complete
The 14 exit survey questions
An exit survey is a short questionnaire for an employee who has resigned. It asks why they are going and what happened before they decided, in the same words for every leaver, so reasons can be counted across a year. Use these fourteen as they are, or make your own survey from them.
Why they are going
The deciding reason first, then everything else that pushed, so one reason stands out.
- Which of these had the biggest part in your decision to leave this organization in the end?The outcome item. Every other answer explains it.
- Which of the other reasons also played a part?
Before they resigned
How early the decision was made, and whether anyone noticed in time.
- When did you first think seriously about leaving?Past three months: decided long before you heard.
- Before you resigned, did anyone here ask you whether you were thinking of leaving?Several "No" answers mean nobody asks until the notice arrives.
The job they had
Five statements about the work, read together for each leaver.
- The job turned out to be the job I was told about when I joined.Low here is a hiring problem that repeats with the next hire.
- I knew what my next step here could be.
- My workload was manageable.
- Decisions that changed my work were explained to me.
- My manager supported me in doing the job well.
How it ended
The part of the exit still in your hands while they answer.
- The way my leaving has been handled has been fair.
- The reason I gave when I resigned was the full reason.Disagree means the letter of resignation was the polite version.
In their own words
Both optional and placed before the end, so the survey closes on a rating.
- What would have had to change here for you to stay?Answers name a fix, which is easier to act on.
- What should stay exactly as it is for the people still here?
Coming back
The closing rating. A former employee who would apply again is a rehire who arrives trained.
- If the right job came up here next year, how likely would you be to apply?
How to conduct an exit interview
Send the survey in the week the notice is agreed, before the handover starts, and name its one reader at the top: someone outside the leaver's reporting line.
Then hold a short exit conversation about two of their answers. Among 164 German employees who had left a job, those given an exit interview felt more attached to their former employer and complained about it less, and being treated fairly on the way out explained part of that.[1]
Read each written answer the day it arrives, and count a reason once five leavers share it. If several name one manager, a manager effectiveness survey asks that manager's team. If pay leads, compensation survey questions ask the people who stayed. If job security does, try the job security questionnaire.
Exit interview FAQ
What questions should you ask in an exit interview?
Ask for the one reason that decided it, then what came before: when they first thought of going and whether anyone asked. Then the job, the manager, how the exit went and whether they would return. Stay interview questions cover people who have not resigned.
Are exit surveys anonymous?
This one asks for no name, but with only a few leavers a month an answer can often be traced. So promise confidentiality instead: name the one person who reads the answers, and share them only as themes.
What should you say in an exit interview?
Name the one or two things that decided it, with a concrete example of each, and skip anything you would rather not answer. On this survey only the first question is required. A specific example is what a reader can act on.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 26 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Sources (1)
- Koenig, C.J., Richter, M. and Isak, I. "Exit interviews as a tool to reduce parting employees' complaints about their former employer and to ensure residual commitment." Management Research Review, 2022. doi:10.1108/MRR-02-2021-0148. Read in the authors' accepted manuscript (PDF).
Hear the real reason before their last day
Fourteen questions, about four minutes, with only the first one required.
Use this template