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    Exit Interview / Exit Survey

    An exit interview collects feedback from customers or employees at the moment of departure to understand why they're leaving and to identify systemic issues.

    Exit surveys are the most under-invested high-ROI survey in most organizations. Customer exit surveys (sent at cancellation or non-renewal) typically achieve 25-40% response rates — far higher than active-customer surveys — because departing customers want to be heard. They surface root-cause churn drivers that NPS cannot: pricing changes, competitor wins, internal champion turnover, product-fit issues. Employee exit interviews face a different problem: social-desirability bias suppresses honest answers, so the best designs include both a structured anonymous survey and a confidential third-party debrief 60-90 days post-departure.

    To get honest answers from departing employees, pair a confidential debrief with a structured anonymous survey at the point of exit.

    Example

    A SaaS exit-survey program: 6 questions sent at cancellation, 32% response rate, top three reasons (52% of responses): 'Found a cheaper alternative' (21%), 'Switched to in-house solution' (18%), 'Pricing changed' (13%). Insight drove a tiered pricing redesign 6 months later.

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    Related terms

    Churn Rate

    Churn rate is the percentage of customers (or revenue) lost during a given period, typically reported monthly or annually.

    Voice of Customer (VoC)

    Voice of Customer (VoC) is a systematic program for collecting, analyzing, and acting on customer feedback across every touchpoint and channel.

    Nonresponse Bias

    Nonresponse bias occurs when the people who do not respond to a survey differ systematically from those who do, on the variable being measured.

    Social Desirability Bias

    Social desirability bias is the tendency of respondents to answer in ways they believe will be viewed favorably by others.

    Detractors (NPS)

    In NPS, detractors are respondents who score 0-6 on the 'likely to recommend' question — unhappy customers at high churn risk.

    Promoters (NPS)

    In NPS, promoters are respondents who score 9 or 10 on the 'likely to recommend' question — your strongest advocates.