When a field engineer, network operations engineer or installation technician leaves a telecom business, the organisation needs to understand what shaped the decision. The network runs around the clock, and the people who keep it running work nights, on call, on the road and often far from the office.
The purpose is to learn from their experience, respect their decision and identify what could improve for the people who remain.
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
"Better package." "Personal reasons." "Moving to another company." These answers may be accurate, but they may not explain the whole decision. A better package could mean fewer night shifts, a clearer on-call arrangement, a role closer to home or a route into a different technology. Personal reasons may relate to how often the job takes someone away from family.
Start with a simple question: "What made you start considering a change?"
Then ask what made the employee decide to leave. This helps distinguish what started their search from the opportunity that eventually attracted them.
Avoid assuming that every resignation reflects a problem with the company. Further studies, relocation, family responsibilities and a change in career direction can also influence someone's decision.
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 allowances: Did the employee feel their pay reflected their responsibilities? Were allowances for travel, night work and on-call time clear and paid promptly?
- On-call and night duty: Was the on-call arrangement clear and shared fairly? Did escalations come at all hours without recognition or recovery time?
- Travel and territory: Did travel, long distances or frequent changes of area affect their health or home life?
- Service-level pressure: Did repair and installation targets feel realistic? How were missed targets discussed?
- Safety and conditions: Did work at height, on towers or at remote sites feel properly supported with equipment and planning?
- Training and certification: Did they get the training and the time to prepare for the certifications their role needs, and could they see how it led to the next role?
- Manager support: Were expectations clear? Did the manager listen and give feedback, even when they were not in the same city?
- Role expectations: Did the actual work match what was discussed at hiring? Did responsibilities change without adequate discussion?
- Personal circumstances: Did relocation, education, caregiving or other priorities affect their ability or wish to continue?
Several factors may contribute to one resignation. Allow employees to explain these connections in their own words.
Create a respectful exit conversation
Invite the employee to a voluntary exit interview during their notice period. For field and installation staff who are rarely at an office, offer a phone or video call at a time that suits their duty. Explain that the purpose is to understand their experience and improve the workplace.
Where possible, choose an interviewer who is sufficiently independent of the issues being discussed. If the concern involves the employee's regional or team manager, offer another appropriate person from HR or a different region. Give them the option to provide written feedback.
Explain who will see their responses and how the information will be used. Avoid promising complete anonymity in a small team or a single region where details could identify the person.
Listen without interrupting or defending each company decision. If clarification is needed, ask for a specific example respectfully. The employee should not have to debate or justify their decision to leave. For how to run the process around the conversation, see exit interviews that produce action.
Ask questions that lead to useful feedback
- 1
What first made you consider 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 them rank or connect the factors in their own words.
- 3
How did the role compare with what you expected when you joined?
Gaps here point to hiring conversations or role changes that were never discussed.
- 4
How did on-call, night duty and shift patterns work for you?
Listen for how fairly duty was shared and whether recovery time was respected.
- 5
How manageable were the travel, territory and targets?
Ask about distance, last-minute reassignments and how targets were set.
- 6
Did you feel properly supported with equipment, planning and safety at site?
Listen for gaps that the people at site noticed before anyone else.
- 7
Did you have the training and certification support you wanted?
Ask what they would have wanted, not only what was missing.
- 8
How would you describe the support you received from your manager?
Offer another interviewer if the employee is uneasy answering this to someone close to the manager.
- 9
Were there concerns you raised earlier? How were they handled?
This shows whether concerns reach anyone who can act.
- 10
What should we improve for the next person in this role?
A forward-looking close that leaves the conversation constructive.
Use follow-up questions where necessary, while allowing the employee to skip questions they do not wish to answer.
Turn individual feedback into a pattern review
Record the primary reason for leaving, any contributing factors and a brief factual summary. Separate what the employee said from your interpretation.
Review departures over time by region, team, shift, role and length of service. Repeated concerns deserve attention, but a small number of exits should prompt further investigation rather than an immediate conclusion about a manager or a region. The general guide to why employees leave covers the wider approach, and the attrition number that hides the problem explains why a single headline rate is not enough.
Compare exit feedback with current employee conversations, roster and on-call information and other relevant evidence. Keep identifiable responses restricted to those who need access, and use summaries for broader reporting. Where an employee mentions a safety concern, ask for details and pass it to the person responsible for site safety.
Give each improvement an owner
An exit interview 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, an informal on-call arrangement could lead to a written rota with a named owner. Travel concerns could prompt a review of how territories are assigned. Certification concerns could prompt a training plan with time set aside to complete it.
Where appropriate, tell current employees what has changed without revealing a departing employee's private feedback.
Start listening before employees resign
Include regular conversations about what helps people work well and what makes the job difficult, including for those who work remotely or on the road. A short call after a major outage, a network rollout or a busy season can surface concerns while there is still time to act. Ask: "What would make you consider leaving, and what could we improve now?"
These conversations can create opportunities to address concerns while the employee is still part of the team. Follow-through matters: asking for feedback creates an expectation that someone will consider it seriously.
Every resignation deserves a respectful response. Understanding the reasons, checking the wider evidence and acting on issues within the organisation's control gives that conversation a useful purpose.
