Exit Survey Template
Exit Survey Template
Exit Survey Template
1. What is the primary reason you are leaving this organization?
2. Were there specific events or moments that contributed to your decision to leave?
3. How long ago did you first start considering leaving this organization?
4. Could anything have been done to prevent you from leaving?
5. If you answered yes to the above, what specifically could have prevented your departure?
6. My role and responsibilities were clearly defined throughout my employment.
7. I had adequate opportunities for career growth and advancement.
8. My skills and experience were fully utilized in my role.
9. I received adequate learning and development support during my time here.
10. My direct manager treated me with respect and professionalism.
11. My manager provided effective feedback and recognised good work.
12. I felt that senior leadership made decisions that were fair, transparent, and strategically sound.
13. I felt my voice and opinions were heard by management.
14. How would you rate your overall experience of management during your employment?
15. My compensation was fair relative to my responsibilities and the market.
16. The company's benefits package met my personal and professional needs.
17. The company culture was positive, inclusive, and aligned with its stated values.
18. My workload and work-life balance were reasonable throughout my employment.
19. What did you value most about working at this organization?
20. What would you change to make this a better organization to work for?
21. Would you recommend this organization as a place to work to others?
22. Would you consider returning to work here in the future?
23. How would you rate your overall experience as an employee of this organization?
24. Is there anything else you would like to share that would help us improve as an organization?Everything you need to know
01What is the Exit Survey Template?
The Exit Survey Template is a ready-to-launch questionnaire for employees who are leaving your organization. It captures the real story behind a departure: the primary reason someone is leaving, whether specific events or moments contributed to the decision, how long ago they first started considering it, and whether anything could have prevented the exit. Alongside these open reasons, it asks people to rate whether their role and responsibilities were clearly defined, whether they had opportunities for growth, and whether their skills were fully used. Run it during an employee's final days or as part of your offboarding checklist, while their experience is still fresh and candid.
02Why run an Exit Survey
Departing employees have little reason to hold back, which makes their feedback some of the most honest you will collect. Running a structured exit survey turns scattered goodbyes into a dataset you can act on. Patterns in the primary reasons for leaving point to whether pay, management, growth, or workload is driving turnover. Answers about what could have prevented a departure tell you where retention efforts would pay off. Tracking how long people considered leaving before resigning shows how early disengagement sets in. Over time, this informs decisions on compensation, career pathing, manager support, and workload, helping you reduce regretted attrition rather than guessing at its causes.
03What this Exit Survey covers
The template runs to roughly 24 questions, blending open text with rating statements. It opens with the departure narrative: the primary reason for leaving, any specific events or moments that contributed, how long ago the person began considering leaving, and whether anything could have prevented it, with a follow-up asking what specifically. From there it moves into experience ratings, where people respond to statements such as "My role and responsibilities were clearly defined throughout my employment," "I had adequate opportunities for career growth and advancement," and "My skills and experience were fully utilized in my role." Later themes typically cover management, culture, compensation, and whether the person would recommend the organization, giving you both the why and the how.
04How to use this free template
Copy or download the full question set and load it into whichever survey tool you already use, such as Google Forms, Typeform, or your HR platform. Keep responses anonymous or clearly confidential so leavers answer candidly, and send the link during the notice period or on the last day. No signup is required to use the template. Adjust wording to match your terminology, then review responses in batches to spot recurring exit reasons rather than reacting to any single reply.
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