[Retention and its levers](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#retention) # What is an exit interview? Definition An exit interview is a structured conversation with a departing employee about why they are leaving and what would have changed their mind. Last updated October 13, 2026 ## An exit interview asks a leaver why they are going. It happens after notice is given and before the last day, usually with someone from HR or a manager other than the leaver's own, so the person can speak freely. The aim is to learn what caused the exit and what would have changed it. By then it is too late to change this exit. The value is in the next one. That is the difference from a [stay interview](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#stay-interview), which asks the same questions of people who have not resigned, while you can still act on the answers. The written version is the [exit survey](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/exit-survey). _Figure: An exit interview and a stay interview side by side. The exit interview happens after notice is given: it asks why the person is leaving, and it is too late to change this exit. The stay interview happens while you can still act: it asks what keeps the person here, and it can still change the outcome._ ## Leavers will tell you things that current staff will not. It is the cheapest source of honest feedback you will ever get, and the least useful if nobody aggregates the answers. One interview is an anecdote, fifty tagged interviews are a pattern. ## A useful exit interview follows the same steps every time. Schedule it during the notice period, not on the last afternoon. Have it run by someone other than the direct manager, ask the same core questions every time, and tag the main reasons for leaving from a fixed list, so the answers can be counted. _Figure: Four steps for a useful exit interview. Schedule it in the notice period, before the last day. Use someone other than the direct manager, so the leaver can speak freely. Ask the same core questions every time, so answers can be compared. Tag the reasons from a fixed list, then add them to the running count._ ## These core questions work in most exit interviews. - What made you start looking, and when? - What would have changed your mind? - How would you describe your relationship with your manager? - Did you see a path to grow here? - What should we keep doing? ## You measure exit interviews by counting the tagged reasons. Formula Share of exits citing a reason = interviews tagged with that reason ÷ all exit interviews × 100 Take an invented year with 40 exit interviews. If 14 of them name a stalled path as the main reason, that is 14 ÷ 40 × 100 = 35% of exits, a pattern worth acting on. One interview naming it is an anecdote. Report the counts to the leadership team every quarter, split by team and by whether the exit was [regretted](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/regretted-attrition). A reason that keeps appearing among regretted exits is the first thing to fix. ## These are the common mistakes with exit interviews. - Having the leaver's own manager run it, when the manager may be the reason. - Writing free-text notes that nobody can count later. - Holding it on the last day, when the person has already mentally left. - Collecting answers but never reporting the pattern to the leaders who could act on it. ## Find out who is showing exit signals. An exit interview explains an exit after the fact. Score one person against ten factors in five areas, in a few minutes, and see the next one coming. [Run a flight risk assessment](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/employee-flight-risk-assessment) Free, no signup required. ## These related terms are in the glossary too. - [Exit survey](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/exit-survey) An exit survey is the written, usually anonymous form version of the exit interview, built from consistent questions so answers can be counted across many leavers. - [Stay interview](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#stay-interview) A stay interview is a structured conversation with a current employee about what keeps them here and what would make them consider leaving. - [Voluntary turnover](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/voluntary-turnover) Voluntary turnover is a departure the employee chose: a resignation, a retirement, or a move to another employer. - [Regretted attrition](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/regretted-attrition) Regretted attrition is a departure the company did not want: someone whose performance, skills or relationships you would have paid to keep. - [Resignation signal](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/resignation-signal) A resignation signal is an observable change that tends to precede someone giving notice, such as a public profile refresh, a withdrawal from optional work, or a shift in visible career activity. - [Employee turnover](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/employee-turnover) Employee turnover is the movement of people out of a company over a set period, counted as the employees who leave and are replaced. ## These pages on this site go deeper. - [Exit interview questions](https://www.teampredict.ai/blog/exit-interview-questions) - [Exit interview template](https://www.teampredict.ai/blog/exit-interview-template) About TeamPredict TeamPredict is retention early-warning software that flags resignation risk from public LinkedIn signals, so you have lead time to keep the people you want to keep. [See how TeamPredict works](https://www.teampredict.ai/retention-software) [Back to the HR glossary](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#exit-interview), where all 52 terms are defined.