When a person leaves an agribusiness, the organisation needs to understand what influenced that decision. For a seasonal crew member, the question is often whether they will come back next season. For a field officer or a procurement executive, it is why they chose to go elsewhere mid-year. Both are worth asking, and the answers are rarely the same.
The purpose is to learn from their experience, respect their decision and identify what could improve before the next season starts and the next crew is needed.
CIPD's guidance on employee turnover highlights the value of understanding why staff leave and addressing areas such as fair treatment, flexibility and employee wellbeing. Source: CIPD
Look beyond the first answer
"Family work." "Going back to the village." "Better rate elsewhere." These may be accurate, but they may not explain everything. Going back to the village could mean the season simply ended, or it could mean late payment, an uncomfortable stay at the unit, or a supervisor the person would rather not work under again.
Start with a simple question: "What made you start considering a change?"
Then ask what made the person decide not to return, or to accept another job. This separates the circumstances that started the thought from the offer that eventually settled it.
Avoid assuming that every departure reflects a problem. Harvest ends, land and family work call people home, and some seasonal workers never intended to return. What you want to find is the part that was within the organisation's control.
Explore the areas that shaped their experience
Use the following areas as prompts rather than assuming any one of them caused the resignation.
- Pay and rates: Were wage and piece rates clear before the season? Were payments made when expected, and were deductions explained?
- Season length and work availability: Did the work last as long as was described? Were days lost to weather, supply gaps or machine breakdowns without explanation?
- Travel, stay and facilities: For crews who travel or stay on site, were accommodation, food, drinking water and transport adequate?
- Supervisor and crew leader treatment: Were instructions clear and fair? Did people feel they could raise a problem with the crew leader or unit supervisor?
- Shift pattern and workload: During processing peaks, were long shifts and night work spread fairly? Was rest respected?
- Field officers and procurement staff: Were targets, territory and travel demands reasonable? Was there support when farmers or suppliers pushed back?
- Skills and growth: Could a good seasonal worker move to a better role or a returning-crew position? Could a field officer see a next step?
- Personal circumstances: Did family needs, land work, health or relocation affect their ability to continue?
Several factors may contribute to one resignation. Allow people to explain these connections in their own words.
Create a respectful exit conversation
Invite the person to a voluntary conversation at release, or by phone shortly afterwards if the crew has already dispersed. Explain that the purpose is to understand their experience and improve the next season.
Where possible, choose someone who is sufficiently independent of the issues being discussed. For a crew member, that is often not the crew leader or unit supervisor: a unit HR or admin coordinator, or a senior person from another unit, can ask more openly. Hold the conversation in the language the person is most comfortable in.
Explain who will see their responses and how the information will be used. Avoid promising complete anonymity in a small crew where details could identify the person. Offer a short spoken or written alternative if a formal conversation feels uncomfortable.
Listen without interrupting or defending each decision. If clarification is needed, ask for a specific example respectfully. The person should not have to justify their choice. For how to run the process around the conversation, see exit interviews that produce action. The general version of this guide covers the questions that apply in any business.
Ask questions that lead to useful feedback
- 1
What first made you think about not returning, or about leaving?
This finds the starting point, which is often different from the final reason.
- 2
What were the main factors in your final decision?
Let the person link the factors in their own words.
- 3
What did you value most about working with us this season?
It shows what to protect for the crew that returns.
- 4
How did the work, the rate and the season length compare with what you were told at the start?
Gaps point to promises made at hiring that the season did not keep.
- 5
Were payments made when you expected? Were deductions explained?
Listen for late payment and unclear deductions, which are often the quiet reason.
- 6
How were stay, food, water and travel during the season?
Facilities matter most to crews who live away from home.
- 7
How was the treatment from your crew leader or supervisor?
Offer another interviewer if the person is uneasy answering this to someone close to the supervisor.
- 8
Were shifts, night work and rest manageable during the busiest weeks?
Listen for unevenly shared long shifts.
- 9
Did you raise any concern during the season? What happened?
This shows whether concerns reached anyone who could act.
- 10
Would you come back next season, and what would make that easier?
A forward-looking close that also tells you who to put on the rehire list.
Use follow-up questions where necessary, while allowing the person to skip questions they do not wish to answer.
Turn individual feedback into a pattern review
Record the main reason for leaving, any contributing factors and a brief factual summary. Separate what the person said from your interpretation. For a seasonal worker, also record whether you would welcome them back and how to reach them.
Review departures and returns over time by crew, village, processing unit, crew leader and role. Repeated concerns deserve attention, but a small number of exits should prompt further investigation rather than an immediate conclusion about one supervisor or unit. The attrition number that hides the problem explains why a single headline rate is not enough.
Compare exit feedback with attendance records, payment timing and season workload. Keep identifiable responses restricted to those who need access, and use summaries for wider reporting.
Give each improvement an owner
An exit conversation has limited value if the feedback is simply filed away. For each issue selected for action, agree on:
- The specific change needed.
- The person responsible.
- A completion date.
- How progress will be reviewed.
For example, late payment could lead to a clearer payment calendar shared with crews at the start. Complaints about stay and facilities could lead to a unit-level check before the season opens, owned by the unit manager. Field officer turnover could prompt a review of territory size and travel expectations.
Where appropriate, tell the next crew and the supervisors what has changed, without revealing anyone's private feedback.
Start listening before people resign
Include regular conversations during the season about what helps people work well and what makes the job hard. Ask: "What would make you consider not coming back, and what could we improve now?"
Mid-season, a short word with each crew leader or a sample of crew members can surface problems while there is still time to fix them. Follow-through matters: asking for feedback creates an expectation that someone will act on it.
Every departure deserves a respectful response. Understanding the reasons, checking the wider evidence and acting on issues within the organisation's control gives each season's goodbye a useful purpose, and gives the next season a better start.
