Exit Interview Form
Capture clear exit feedback, spot turnover patterns, and document rehire eligibility in one structured interview form. Use it to turn a difficult conversation into actionable HR insight.
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Overview
This exit interview form is designed to capture the key details HR needs when an employee leaves: who is departing, why they are leaving, how they experienced the workplace, what could improve, and whether they are eligible for rehire. The structure keeps the conversation focused and makes it easier to compare responses across employees, teams, and time periods.
Use it when you want more than a casual goodbye conversation. It is especially useful after voluntary resignations, retirements, and contract endings, when the organization wants honest feedback about management, workload, growth, and culture. The form also helps document final comments and rehire decisions in a consistent way.
Do not use it as a performance review, a disciplinary record, or a place to pressure the employee into changing their mind. It is also not the right tool for collecting sensitive personal information that is unrelated to the departure. If the employee is leaving under a legal dispute, harassment complaint, or medical leave situation, keep the interview narrow, factual, and aligned with your HR and legal process. The value of this template comes from consistency, neutrality, and follow-through on the feedback you collect.
Standards & compliance context
- Keep exit interview notes factual and job-related so they do not create unnecessary legal or discrimination risk.
- Do not ask for medical details, protected status, or other sensitive personal information unless your HR process specifically requires it and you have a lawful basis.
- Store completed forms according to your organization’s retention and access-control policies, since they may become part of the employee record.
- If the employee raises harassment, retaliation, wage, or safety concerns, escalate through the appropriate internal reporting process rather than treating the form as the final record.
General regulatory context for orientation only — verify current requirements with counsel or the relevant agency before relying on this template for compliance.
What's inside this template
Employee Information
This section identifies the departing employee and anchors the interview to the correct role, team, and final working day.
- Employee Name
- Job Title
- Department
- Manager Name
- Last Working Day
Reason for Leaving
This section captures the main drivers behind the departure so HR can distinguish isolated cases from recurring turnover patterns.
- Primary Reason for Leaving
- Additional Reasons
- Please explain your reason for leaving
Work Experience
This section shows how the employee experienced day-to-day work, management, and growth opportunities while employed.
- Overall, how would you rate your experience working here?
- How would you rate the work environment?
- How would you rate the support from your manager?
- How would you rate growth and development opportunities?
- What was the most positive aspect of working here?
Suggestions for Improvement
This section turns feedback into practical ideas the organization can act on after the employee leaves.
- Which areas should the company improve?
- What suggestions do you have for improving the employee experience?
- Would you recommend this company as a place to work?
Rehire Eligibility
This section documents whether the employee can be rehired later and why that decision was made.
- Would you consider returning to work here in the future?
- Please explain your answer
- Any final comments or feedback?
How to use this template
- 1. Set up the form with the employee’s basic information, the interview date, and any company-specific fields you want to track.
- 2. Assign the interview to HR or another trained interviewer who can ask neutral questions and document answers accurately.
- 3. Run the exit interview by walking through the reason for leaving, work experience, and improvement questions in a calm, non-defensive way.
- 4. Review the responses for patterns, note any urgent issues that need follow-up, and record the rehire eligibility decision with a clear reason.
- 5. Share relevant feedback with the appropriate leaders, then use the findings to update onboarding, management practices, retention efforts, or offboarding steps.
Best practices
- Ask the same core questions for every departing employee so you can compare answers across teams and time periods.
- Record the employee’s words as closely as possible instead of rewriting their feedback into corporate language.
- Separate the interview from any final pay, benefits, or equipment return conversations so the employee can speak more freely.
- Use neutral prompts such as 'Can you tell me more about that?' when a response is vague or emotional.
- Document rehire eligibility with a short reason so future hiring managers understand the decision.
- Route serious allegations or legal concerns to the proper HR or legal channel instead of trying to resolve them in the form.
- Close the loop on recurring themes by assigning an owner to each improvement area instead of filing the form away.
What this template typically catches
Issues teams running this template most often surface in practice:
Common use cases
Frequently asked questions
What is an exit interview form used for?
An exit interview form helps HR collect consistent feedback when an employee leaves. It captures the reason for leaving, the employee’s experience, and suggestions for improvement. It also creates a written record of rehire eligibility and final comments. That makes it easier to spot patterns across departures instead of relying on informal notes.
Who should complete this form?
Usually HR, a people operations specialist, or the employee’s manager completes the form during or after the exit interview. The departing employee may fill in some answers directly if you want more candid feedback. In many organizations, HR owns the process so responses stay consistent and confidential. The interviewer should be trained to ask neutral questions and avoid defensiveness.
How often should exit interviews be conducted?
This form is typically used whenever an employee resigns, retires, or otherwise leaves the company. It is not a periodic survey; it is tied to the offboarding event. Some organizations also use a lighter version for contractors or interns at the end of an assignment. The key is to use the same structure each time so results can be compared over time.
What information should be included in the reason for leaving section?
The reason for leaving section should capture the primary reason, any secondary reasons, and enough detail to understand the context. Common examples include compensation, manager relationship, workload, career growth, relocation, or a new opportunity. The goal is to record the employee’s own explanation without forcing it into a preset category. That makes later analysis more useful.
Are there any compliance or legal concerns with exit interview forms?
Yes, because exit interview notes can become part of the employee record and may be relevant in a dispute. Keep the form factual, avoid discriminatory questions, and store it according to your retention policy. If your organization has legal or HR review requirements, route sensitive comments appropriately. The form should not ask for medical details, protected status, or other unnecessary personal information.
What are common mistakes when using an exit interview form?
A common mistake is turning the interview into a debate instead of a listening session. Another is using vague categories that do not explain why someone left. Teams also forget to document rehire eligibility consistently, which makes future hiring decisions harder. Finally, many organizations collect feedback but never assign owners to act on it.
Can this template be customized for different departments or roles?
Yes, and it should be. You can add role-specific questions for sales, engineering, operations, or frontline staff if those teams have different turnover drivers. You can also adjust the satisfaction scale, add a confidentiality statement, or include a manager handoff section. The structure works best when the core questions stay consistent and only the extra fields change.
How does this compare with informal exit conversations?
Informal conversations can surface useful feedback, but they are hard to compare and easy to forget. A structured form gives you a repeatable record of why people leave and what they experienced. It also helps different interviewers ask the same core questions. That consistency makes trend analysis and follow-up much easier.
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