Should I Bother Doing Exit Interviews?

Exit Interviews: Should You Bother and How to Make Them Work

Exit interviews done badly are a tick-box exercise that changes nothing. This episode covers when they work, what to ask, and what to do with the data. Listen now.

Exit interviews are one of those HR rituals everyone does but few use well. A 2023 CIPD study found 35% of UK employees were considering leaving within 12 months — poor management, lack of development, and feeling undervalued being the top reasons.

In this episode, Claire and Sarah cover when exit interviews are worth doing, why people rarely tell the whole truth in them, why stay interviews may give better data, and what to never do with the findings once you have them.

• Only do exit interviews if you're going to act on them. Collecting data and filing it away is worse than not collecting it — it signals that feedback leads nowhere.
• Most people don't tell the whole truth in exit interviews. Unless someone is seriously aggrieved, leavers want a quiet notice period. The small things that really drove the decision rarely surface in a formal conversation.
• Stay interviews are more valuable than exit interviews. Talking to people during employment — asking what's working and what would make them stay — gets you the honest data while you can still act on it.
• Who conducts the interview matters enormously. Line managers shouldn't do their own team's exit interviews. An independent HR person creates the psychological safety needed for honest feedback, especially if management was part of the problem.
• The timing makes a significant difference. Exit interviews held close to the actual leaving date tend to yield more candid responses than those conducted the week after resignation.
• The three most common reasons people leave are management, lack of development, and feeling undervalued. These aren't surprises — but without tracking patterns, you can't confirm which is driving turnover in your specific business.
• Don't conduct exit interviews after dismissals. The feedback will be skewed by the circumstances of the exit, and the distinction between voluntary and involuntary leavers matters when you're trying to understand why people choose to go.

• [01:09] Why most exit interviews fail
• [02:15] The honesty problem with exit interviews
• [04:45] Why stay interviews may work better
• [07:21] Who should conduct the interview
• [07:34] Why timing changes the quality of feedback
• [10:38] Management style as a hidden reason for leaving
• [11:38] Lack of development and career progression
• [12:24] When not to do an exit interview

1. CIPD 2023 — 35% of UK employees considering leaving within 12 months: cipd.org
2. Glassdoor — employer reviews and reputation: glassdoor.co.uk

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