Exit interviews are very powerful when used correctly, it's a tool that provides closer for both parties. The offboarding process is usually neglected by companies. This process is important as it can give real sincere and actionable insights about what the company should change. The employee receives closure as he is listened.

The main ways companies to manage this process are:

1. auto administered surveys - the employee receives a questionnaire with questions to fill out (online or pen and paper). Advantage: it can reach a high number of leaving employees with limited HR human resources. Downside: impersonal, the employee can offer "political" feedback without the company noticing.
2. Interview - every leaving employee goes through an interview with HR. Advantage: it can extract the real reasons the employee leaves. Downside: time consuming, it requires discipline from the interviewers to centralize all the data in a consistent way
3. mix of surveys and live interviews - a very effective way for the company to identify the real problems. There usually are discrepancies between what the employees write in the questionnaires and what they say in an interview. Those are the areas that should be pursued.

Please find below the most common exit interview sections with some of the most relevant questions:

1. Reason for leave:
2. What determined you to start looking for a new job?
3. What are the elements that made you accept the new job?
4. How is the new job more attractive than your job with us?
5. Did you discussed your concerns with your manager or HR?
6. Satisfaction versus job
7. What are the things you liked most at your job with us?
8. What are the things you disliked most at your job with us?
9. Do you consider you had all the necessary tools and resources to do your job effectively?
10. Do you thing that your job was subject to changes in while you were in the company?
11. Compensation and benefits
12. Do you consider the compensation received was fair?
13. Do you think that the compensation package is competitive?
14. Were you happy with the benefits received?
15. What are the benefits that you valued the most?
16. Work relations
17. Can you describe the relationship with your direct manager?
18. What was your relationship with your colleagues?
19. Do you consider you received all the support necessary from your manager? What about from your colleagues?
20. Were all your objectives clear?
21. Learning and development opportunities
22. How would you evaluate the quality of training received?
23. Do you think that the received training contributed to your performance within the organization? Could you mention those that did and why?
24. How could we make better our training initiatives?
25. Did you received timely, helpful and specific feedback?
26. Do you consider you had enough opportunities for development?
27. What were the experiences that were most relevant for your success in this job?
28. Culture
29. Do you consider our culture as being one of teamwork and cooperation?
30. What are the things we could do to make this a better place to work?
31. Do you feel that our values are aligned with the values
32. Policies and procedures
33. Do you think that our policies are up to date?
34. Do you consider employees have a say in the companies policies?
35. Brand ambassador
36. Would you recommend our company as place to work to your friends, family or relatives? Could you describe your answer?
37. Would you consider working with us again in the future? If yes, what should happen/are the factors that would make you consider us again?
38. Vacancy
39. Do you think your current role should be modified in order for a new comer to have success? How?
40. What skills and/or qualifications should we look for at your replacement?