Winston Churchill once said, “Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Houston, Texas, Murray Resources knows that when it comes to the workplace, one of the biggest difficulties an employer can face is when a valuable employee decides to leave. You’re left wondering where things went wrong.

The good news is that you can turn this difficulty into an opportunity for organizational improvement. But first you need to conduct an exit interview. After all, you won’t know why the employee is leaving unless you ask. And even if they’re a little vague with some of their answers, there is some valuable information you can glean from the process.

So what kinds of questions should you be asking? Here’s a look at 26:

The Basic Questions:

• Why are you leaving?

• Is there anything that could have been done to prevent you from leaving?

• Is there any one event or issue that resulted in your leaving?

• What was the most satisfying aspect of your job?

• What was the least satisfying aspect of your job?

Questions About Culture:

• How would you describe the culture of the company?

• What did you like about it most?

• What did you dislike about it most?

• Did the culture factor into your reason for leaving?

• How do you think we could improve our culture?

• Did you ever feel harassed, bullied, or threatened in any way?

Questions About Communication:

• Do you think your department’s team members communicate effectively?

• Is there anything you would do to improve communication within and between departments?

Questions About Management:

• Did you feel motivated on the job?

• Were there areas where employee motivation could have been improved?

• Were there any areas of responsibility that you were interested in taking on that you weren’t given?

• Were there any areas of responsibility that you had to take on but didn’t want to?

Questions About Productivity:

• Do you have any feedback as to how we could improve productivity?

• Did you feel you were able to make good use of your time here?

• Was there anything that got in the way of your personal productivity?

Questions About the Competition:

• Why did you decide to take a job with this particular employer?

• What is your new employer offering you that we’re not?

• Would you ever be interested in coming back to work for us?

Questions About Development:

• Did you feel like you were given the training and support you needed to do your job?

• What is one area where we could improve upon in terms of training and development?

• What was the one most valuable resource you were given access to?

• Is there anything you would do to improve our performance evaluation process?

While you may not get clear answers or feedback from every question you ask, conducting an exit interview – and asking meaningful questions like the ones above – can be a productive start to learning why good employees leave…and breaking the cycle in the future.

Need Help Hiring & Retaining Good Employees?

If you do, let Murray Resources know. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Houston, Texas, Murray Resources has been providing world-class recruiting services to top companies in the city and beyond for 30 years. Let us help you too! Contact us today to learn more.