Exit Interviews: Your Last Chance to Learn the Truth Before It Costs You

When someone hands in their notice, your first instinct might be to think, “Right, who’s next to cover their shifts?” We get it — in an SME, there’s rarely a spare pair of hands. But if you’re not hitting pause to ask why they’re leaving, you could be missing insights that are costing your business time, money, and morale.

At ORC, we work with business owners every week who say, “If only I’d known sooner.” That’s why we believe exit interviews are one of the most powerful — and underused — tools in HR.

What Happens in an Exit Interview?

In short an exit interview is a conversation. Not a form, not a formality. A real talk between you (or a trusted third party) and the employee who’s leaving.

The goal isn’t to convince them to stay. It’s to understand what pushed them to go.

Done well, an exit interview should cover:

Why they started looking elsewhere
What they valued (or didn’t) in your business
What might have made them stay
Any concerns about culture, management, or communication

The most valuable part? Employees often feel freer to be honest once they’ve made the decision to leave. If you create the right environment, they’ll tell you what no one else is saying out loud.

Why Do Employers Do Exit Interviews?

Because guessing doesn’t cut it!

An exit interview gives you real, direct feedback. Not filtered through gossip or assumptions — straight from the source. It shows you patterns you might have missed: a manager who’s burning people out, a process that’s frustrating staff, or a culture clash nobody named.

More than that, it gives your business the chance to protect what’s working and fix what’s not. It’s the cheapest form of retention insight you’ll ever get.

And, it also sends a message to your remaining team: we care enough to ask, we’re not afraid to hear it, and we want to grow from it.

Why Exit Interviews Matter for Retention — and the ROI Behind It

Retention isn’t just about keeping people — it’s about keeping the right people, longer.

Replacing an employee can cost up to 200% of their salary. That includes hiring, onboarding, lost productivity, and the knock-on effects on morale and team dynamics. But when you start to understand why people leave, you begin to see where your culture, leadership, or processes might need adjusting.

Exit interviews give you:

Insight to reduce future turnover
A way to improve onboarding for the next hire
A clearer picture of team morale and pressure points

When you act on exit feedback, you don’t just plug holes — you prevent them from forming. The ROI of retention is measured in better productivity, reduced hiring costs, stronger team culture, and a business that doesn’t constantly feel like it’s back at square one.

In short? Retention pays off. Exit interviews help you get there.

What Makes an Exit Interview Effective?

Here’s the truth: most exit interviews are rubbish.

They’re rushed. They’re awkward. They’re done by someone too close to the situation or too removed to care.

An effective exit interview has three things:

Trust – The person doing the interview must be neutral and make the employee feel safe.
Timing – Ideally, not on their last hour of their last day.
Curiosity – Ask open-ended questions. Listen more than you talk.

We often recommend having someone outside the business lead it — like ORC — because it removes fear and encourages honesty.

What NOT to Do in Exit Interviews

Get defensive
Interrupt or justify
Push for them to stay
Make it a tick-the-box exercise

And don’t assume they’ll tell you everything. People hold back because they don’t want drama, they feel guilty, or they think it won’t change anything.

The best way around that? Let them talk. Ask the right questions. And make it clear you’re listening to improve — not to debate.

Why Exit Interviews are Important

We worked with a client who lost a great staff member on their production line. Quiet, reliable, and efficient — the kind of person you don’t want to lose.

When they left, it seemed out of the blue. But in their exit interview, they admitted they didn’t get on with someone next to them on the line. It made the workday uncomfortable. But they didn’t want to complain, so they just handed in their notice.

Here’s the kicker: moving them to a different section would’ve been easy. But no one asked. And so, they left.

That’s the value of exit interviews. They show you what’s bubbling under the surface — before it becomes a resignation letter.

What to Do With Exit Interview Feedback

The worst thing you can do with the feedback you get from exit interviews? File it away and not take action on it.

Instead:

Look for patterns across multiple exit interviews
Share relevant themes with leadership (protect identities)
Use the insights to adjust management, culture, or structure

And yes — it is important to follow through. Otherwise, people stop talking at the exit interviews as they see it as a waste of time.

When your team sees that feedback leads to action, they’re more likely to trust the process and open up in the future. That’s how culture improves.

Are Exit Interviews Confidential?

They should be. Not secret — but respectful.

That means protecting individual comments where needed, and never using feedback to punish or shame managers. Be honest about how insights will be used, and always follow your data privacy obligations.

A good rule of thumb: share themes, not names.

The Pitfalls of Exit Interviews — and How to Avoid Them

Pitfalls:

Asking too late
Having the wrong person lead it
Doing nothing with the feedback

How to avoid the pitfalls of exit interviews?

Make exit interviews standard
Train whoever leads them (or outsource it)
Build a system to track, analyse, and act on feedback

They Don’t Have to Leave to Tell You the Truth

Here’s the real takeaway: you don’t have to wait for someone to quit to have these conversations. Start building a culture where check-ins, stay interviews, and open feedback are normal. It’ll feel less like a “gotcha” moment and more like a natural part of being in your business. The best exit interview is the one that never has to happen.

Ready to Turn Goodbyes into Growth?

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start listening, let’s talk.

Book a strategy session with ORC — we’ll help you put the right process in place to learn, adapt, and retain your best people.