17 Impactful Exit Interview Survey Questions You Must Ask

In the world of workforce dynamics, understanding the reasons behind employee departures is not just a curiosity but a strategic necessity.

The art of crafting thoughtful exit survey questions allows organizations to glean powerful insights with confidence, providing a window into the factors that shape employee experiences and decisions.

Assessing the morale of your workforce is a crucial part of running a successful business. Employee output improves when they feel appreciated and valued. Employee turnover is a regular part of every business. But it’s crucial to know why they leave if/when they do go.

This is where exit interview survey questions come into play.

XYZ is an IT company with over 800 workers. The organization has recently experienced a higher-than-average turnover rate. Each year, more than 10% of employees leave the organization.

The HR department attempts to learn why employees leave and devise retention strategies. They conducted an exit interview survey to gain insight into the causes of employee turnover. From this survey, they found that the majority of the employees were leaving due to;

• Lack of career development opportunities.
• Lack of recognition for their work.

With this data, they can make adjustments to foster a more favorable environment for employees. Furthermore, they can increase employee retention and boost output as a result.

Table of Contents:

1. What is an Exit Survey?
2. Purposes of an Exit Interview Survey
3. Top 22 Must-Ask Exit Survey Questions
4. Processing Exit Survey Questions Data
5. Characteristics of a Good Exit Survey
6. Wrap Up

What is an Exit Survey?

Definition: An Exit Survey, also known as an exit interview or separation survey, is a tool used by organizations to gather feedback from employees who are leaving the company voluntarily.

An exit survey questionnaire is a questionnaire given to employees when they leave the company. The survey usually asks questions about the employee’s experience during the employment period. It gathers feedback from departing employees and gains insights into why they leave the company.

You can conduct exit surveys in different ways, including online and paper surveys or through interviews.

Typically they include questions about;

• The employee’s experience.
• Employee’s reasons for leaving.
• Employee’s thoughts on the company.

Purposes of an Exit Interview Survey

• Identifying Reasons for Employee Turnover

Exit surveys help identify the reasons why employees are leaving the company. This can help you improve your policies and procedures to retain top talent.

It is also useful for gaining insight into the employees’ workplace experiences. By conducting an exit interview, you can determine if any of these reasons motivated the employee to leave;

1. Lack of job satisfaction.
2. Poor work environment.
3. Other factors causing attrition.

• Improving Retention Rates

Exit surveys provide a platform for employees to provide honest feedback about their experiences and the organization. You can identify and address any underlying issues causing employees to leave through this feedback.

For instance, exit surveys can reveal if employees feel undervalued or dissatisfied with their compensation packages. This information can help create attractive and competitive benefits packages to improve employee retention and satisfaction.

• Training and Development

Exit surveys can reveal employee training and development needs. They can also evaluate the effectiveness of current programs and their influence on employee performance.

• Identifying Areas of Improvement

Exit surveys allow you to get accurate feedback on the effectiveness of your current policies and procedures. Thus, you can identify areas where improvement is crucial and make necessary changes to increase retention rates.

Employee unhappiness with their manager, for instance, may be revealed by an exit survey. With this knowledge, you can take the appropriate actions to guarantee that managers receive the essential training.

• Increasing Morale and Productivity

By conducting an exit survey, you can show your employees that you value their opinions and feedback. This can create a culture of trust and respect. Consequently, make employees feel more valued and appreciated in their roles.

You can find areas where you can boost morale and productivity by using exit surveys. This can be advantageous for businesses trying to boost employee engagement and satisfaction.

Top 22 Must-Ask Exit Survey Questions

Employees are asked to answer exit survey questions when they leave the company. These types of surveys aid in identifying the fundamental reasons behind employee churn.

Some common exit survey questions include:

1. What factors motivated you to leave the company?
2. How satisfied were you with the management and leadership of the company?
3. Was there anything the company could have done to make you stay?
4. How satisfied were you with the company’s benefits and compensation?
5. What would you change about the company if you could?

Here are some more examples of must-ask exit interview survey questions:

1. What was your overall experience with the company?
2. What were the primary reasons for leaving?
3. How likely are you to recommend the company to others?
4. How satisfied were you with the benefits package?
5. What do you think can be improved upon?
6. How satisfied were you with the salary and compensation?
7. What do you think the company does well?
8. How satisfied were you with the job security?
9. Are there any policies or practices that you disagreed with?
10. How satisfied were you with the training and development opportunities?
11. Did you feel supported by the company?
12. How satisfied were you with the work-life balance?
13. Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
14. How satisfied were you with the recognition and rewards?
15. How satisfied were you with communications from management?
16. How would you rate the overall work experience?
17. How satisfied were you with the work environment?

Processing Exit Survey Questions Data

Analyzing exit survey data in Excel can be a tedious and time-consuming process.

Fortunately, there is an easier way to analyze the data with ChartExpo.

ChartExpo is a powerful data visualization tool that can help analyze exit survey data in Excel effortlessly by making it the best Likert scale creator.

You can create appealing charts and graphs using ChartExpo.

How to Install ChartExpo in Excel?

1. Open your Excel application.
2. Open the worksheet and click the “Insert” menu.
3. You’ll see “My Apps”.
4. In the office Add-ins window, click “Store” and search for ChartExpo on my Apps Store.
5. Click the “Add” button to install ChartExpo in your Excel.

ChartExpo charts and graphs are available both in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Please use the following CTA’s to install the tool of your choice and create beautiful visualizations in a few clicks in your favorite tool.

Example

As the HR administrator, you conduct an exit survey on every employee leaving your company. Your survey consists of the following statements and questions:

• You are not leaving the company due to a bad environment
• You were happy with the benefits provided by the company
• Do you think you have improved professionally since you were hired?
• Would you prefer to join us again in the future if we approach you?

The employees provide an answer to each question using the scale below.

1. Strongly Disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neutral
4. Agree
5. Strongly Agree

Upon receiving the responses, you update them on a table similar to this one.

Responses	You are not leaving the company due to bad environment	You were happy with the benefits provided by the company	Do you think you have improved professionally since you were hired?	Will you prefer to join us again in future if we approach you?
Response 1	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Neutral
Response 2	Agree	Neutral	Strongly Agree	Neutral

• To get started with ChartExpo, install ChartExpo in Excel.
• Now Click on My Apps from the INSERT

• Choose ChartExpo from My Apps, then click

• Once ChartExpo is loaded. Click on “Likert Scale Chart” from the list of charts.

• Click the “Create Chart From Selection” button after selecting the data from the sheet, as shown.

• Allocate numerical values to this Likert scale.
  1. Strongly Disagree = 1
  2. Disagree = 2
  3. Neutral = 3
  4. Agree = 4
  5. Strongly Agree = 5

• The Likert Scale Chart will look as follows.

• If you want to have the title of the chart, click on Edit Chart, as shown in the above image.
• To change the title of the chart, click on the pencil icon that is available next to the Chart Header.
• It will open the properties dialog. Under the Text section, you can add a heading in Line 1 and enable the Show Give the appropriate title of your chart and click on the Apply button.

• You can add question numbers to each query. Click on the highlighted pencil icon at the top of the Overall bars. Then, go to the ‘Question’ section and toggle the ‘Show question no‘ option. Then click the “Apply” button.

• Instead of entering numerical figures, you can choose to include textual responses. To do this, select the pencil icon next to the applicable emoji. Then, open the Label area and enter the desired text. Then click the “Apply All” button.
• For saving changes click on Save Changes. This will persist the changes.

• The final chart will look as follows.

Insights

• 61% expressed contentment with the work atmosphere. However, this was not the major factor in leaving the business. 28% declared that they were not satisfied with the work environment. 11% said they were neither happy nor unhappy.
• 61% expressed contentment with the benefits provided by the company, while 29% expressed discontent.
• 65% of the employees said they had improved professionally since they joined the organization. On the other hand, 21% stated otherwise.
• 56% of the employees said that they would accept a job offer from the company in the future. Whereas 26% said they would not.
• 61% of the employees agreed with the questions asked in the exit survey. 26% disagreed with all the questions, and 13% remained neutral.

Characteristics of a Good Exit Survey

Creating an effective exit survey is essential to gain valuable insights from departing employees.

Here are five points of what makes a good exit survey:

1. Clarity: The questions in an exit survey need to be short and precise. This will ensure that respondents comprehend the questions and offer insightful responses.
2. Relevance: Match the exit survey questions to the goals and objectives of the business. This will guarantee that the survey is relevant and provides insightful data.
3. Anonymity: Exit surveys should be anonymous to encourage honest responses.
4. Conciseness: Exit surveys should be concise. This will help ensure that respondents do not get frustrated.
5. Open-Ended Questions: Exit surveys should include open-ended questions to gain detailed insights.

FAQs:

What is an exit survey?

An exit survey is issued to employees when they leave their jobs.

It usually includes questions on the following:

• Employee satisfaction with their time at the company.
• Employee’s experience working with supervisors or colleagues.
• Potential improvements to the company’s policies.

What type of questions are asked in an exit interview?

An exit interview consists of questions on the following:

• The employee’s experience.
• Employee’s reasons for leaving.
• Employee’s thoughts on the company.

Examples of these questions include:

• What made you leave the company?
• Would you recommend working at this company to others?

What are 5 typical questions asked during an exit interview?

Common examples of exit survey questions include:

1. What motivated you to leave the organization?
2. What was your overall experience with the company?
3. Would you recommend this company to others?
4. Would you consider returning to the company in the future?

What are exit survey questions?

Exit survey questions gather feedback from employees leaving an organization. They ask why the employee is leaving, their experience, and their level of satisfaction with the organization.

Wrap Up

Thousands of individuals quit their jobs every day across the globe. If you operate a business, you will experience employee turnover at some point. Or else you have experienced the frustration of losing a stellar employee to a competitor.

Therefore, it’s crucial to identify the root causes of employee turnover so you can fix it. Consequently, keep your top talent from wandering off.

Exit surveys help understand why employees are leaving. From these insights into employee turnover, you can take action accordingly.

Furthermore, it provides a platform for employees to provide honest feedback about their experiences with the organization. This type of feedback is valuable for retaining high-commitment employees and boosting morale.

You can use Excel to analyze the results of your exit surveys.

ChartExpo for Excel allows you to analyze exit survey data and gain insights effortlessly.