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What Is Exit Interview?

An exit interview is a conversation with a departing employee to learn why they are leaving and what could improve.

An educational definition from the HR glossary. Explore related terms below, or jump into the resource center to go deeper.

Definition

An exit interview is a conversation with a departing employee to learn why they are leaving and what could improve.

Why it matters

It turns departures into learning that can reduce future turnover.

Examples

Illustrative example. Aggregating exit themes across leavers reveals patterns to act on.

For the practical detail behind this term, follow the related metric, template and resources below.

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For informational purposes only. This is an educational, plain-language definition — not legal, tax, financial or compliance advice and not an official definition. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based illustrations, not data. Confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Related concepts

Related glossary terms

Keep exploring the HR vocabulary.

Glossary

Offboarding

Offboarding is the structured process of handling an employee’s departure — access, assets, knowledge transfer and a respectful close-out.

Open Glossary

Stay Interview

A stay interview is a proactive conversation to understand why a valued employee stays and what might make them leave.

Open Glossary

Employee Turnover

Employee turnover is the movement of people out of an organisation over a period — the rate at which employees leave and need replacing.

Open
Measure it

Related metrics & calculators

HR metric

Employee Turnover Rate

Employee turnover rate measures how many people left over a period relative to the average number employed.

Open Calculators

HR calculators

Quantify the metrics in your browser.

Open Hub

HR metrics hub

How HR measures are defined and read.

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Put it into practice

Related templates

Template

Exit Interview Template

A departure is a chance to learn.

Open
Go deeper

Related resources

The clusters that put this concept into practice.

Lifecycle

Employee lifecycle

The full employee journey, stage by stage.

Open Operations

Employer operations

Run the workforce as a repeatable system.

Open Planning

Workforce planning

Strategy and organizational design.

Open Compliance

HR compliance

Documentation, records, data and policy.

Open Templates

HR templates

Free, printable, placeholder-based templates.

Open Playbooks

HR playbooks

Step-by-step plays for people processes.

Open Technology

HR technology

Automation, analytics and systems.

Open Funnel

Recruitment funnel

Sourcing through to accepted offer.

Open Reporting

HR reporting & dashboards

Turn people data into clear views.

Open AI for HR

AI for HR

Where AI assists HR, responsibly.

Open Resource center

HR resource center

The central map of every cluster.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Exit Interview?

An exit interview is a conversation with a departing employee to learn why they are leaving and what could improve.

Why does Exit Interview matter?

It turns departures into learning that can reduce future turnover.

How is Exit Interview measured?

It connects to the HR metric linked on this page, where you can find the formula and how to read it. This glossary entry is an educational definition, not a data source.