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Exit interview form

An exit interview form records why an employee is leaving and what they thought of their job, manager, pay, growth and workplace. Filled in during a private conversation with HR in the last week, it gives the company honest feedback it rarely gets from current staff. Used over many exits, the answers show patterns, such as one team losing people to the same manager or one pay band losing people to competitors, that no single resignation reveals.

When to use it: Hold the exit interview in the last week of the notice period, after the handover is mostly done but before the last day's rush. HR, not the reporting manager, conducts it in private, reads out the confidentiality note, and fills in or lets the employee fill in the form. Participation is voluntary.

Exit interview form template

Copy the text below and replace everything in square brackets with your company details.

[Company Name]
[Office Address]
[City], [State] [PIN Code]

EXIT INTERVIEW FORM
Ref: [Company Code]/HR/EXIT/[Year]/[Number]
Date of interview: [Date]
Interviewer: [HR Name], [HR Designation]

Part A: Employee details

Name: [Employee Name]
Employee ID: [Employee ID]
Designation and department: [Designation], [Department]
Reporting manager: [Manager Name]
Date of joining: [Date of Joining]
Last working day: [Last Working Day]

Part B: Main reason for leaving (tick one, and any others that apply)

  • Better pay or benefits elsewhere
  • Career growth or promotion opportunity
  • Relationship with reporting manager
  • Workload, working hours or shift timings
  • Relocation, marriage or family reasons
  • Higher studies
  • Health reasons
  • Work environment or team culture
  • Other: [Please specify]

Part C: Please rate from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent)

  • Clarity of your role and expectations: [1 to 5]
  • Support and feedback from your reporting manager: [1 to 5]
  • Salary and benefits compared with the market: [1 to 5]
  • Opportunities for learning and growth: [1 to 5]
  • Workload and working hours: [1 to 5]
  • Tools, systems and resources to do your job: [1 to 5]
  • Fair treatment and respect at work: [1 to 5]

Part D: Your views

  • What did you like most about working here?
  • What is one thing that would have made you stay?
  • Did you raise your concerns with anyone before resigning? If yes, with whom, and what happened?
  • What would you change about your team or department?
  • Would you consider rejoining in future, and would you recommend us to a friend? Why?

Your answers will be kept confidential by HR and used only in summary form to improve the workplace. They will not affect your relieving letter, experience letter or settlement in any way.

Employee signature (optional): ____________
Interviewer signature: ____________
HR comments and follow-up actions: ____________

What to include

HR conducts it, not the manager

Employees rarely speak frankly about a manager to that manager. A trained HR person, in private, gets far more useful answers than a form emailed on the last day.

One main reason, plus others

Ask for one main reason and allow others to be ticked. Classifying every exit by its main reason is what makes trends visible across months and teams.

Ratings plus open questions

Ratings give comparable numbers across exits; open questions explain them. The question about what would have made them stay is often the most valuable answer on the form.

Confidentiality and no consequences

Say plainly that answers are confidential and will not affect the relieving letter or settlement. Without that assurance, most people tick relocation and leave.

Act on the patterns

Review exit data every quarter with department heads. A form that is filed and never read teaches the remaining employees that feedback is pointless.

Common mistakes to avoid

Run it in ZeniaHR

ZeniaHR's offboarding in the employee record lets HR record the main reason for leaving from 20 structured exit reasons, so every exit is classified the same way, and tracks the 8-item exit checklist alongside. Detailed answers and ratings from this form are kept by HR outside the system or uploaded to the employee's documents with restricted access, since roles and data scope decide who can open them.

Employee records and exitsEmployee documentsPerformance

See it on your own data

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Frequently asked questions

What questions should be asked in an exit interview?

Ask about the main reason for leaving, the role, the reporting manager, pay and benefits, growth, workload, tools and fair treatment, and what would have made the employee stay. Add whether they would rejoin or recommend the company. Keep it to about ten questions so the conversation stays focused.

Is an exit interview mandatory for employees?

No. It is a voluntary conversation, and the employee can decline or skip questions. Making it compulsory or linking it to the relieving letter or settlement reduces honesty and trust. Explain its purpose and let the employee choose.

Who should conduct the exit interview?

An HR person the employee trusts, not the reporting manager. In small companies without HR, a senior person outside the employee's reporting line can do it. The interviewer should listen, take notes and avoid arguing with or trying to change the employee's mind.

What should HR do with exit interview data?

Summarise it every quarter by department, manager and reason, share the patterns with leadership without identifying individuals, and agree actions such as manager coaching, pay corrections or shift changes. Report back on the actions taken so employees see feedback leads somewhere.

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