Many companies go to great lengths to deliver a positive onboarding process for new hires. From introductions and welcomes to training and logons, new starters are generally set up for success in the early days of their employment. But what about offboarding? Sadly, not as many companies put the same effort into their offboarding processes.
In this article, we’re looking at positive offboarding, so that both the employee and the business can benefit. We’ll discuss:
- A definition of offboarding
- Why offboarding is important to the business and the employee
- What offboarding should include
- What offboarding looks like
- An offboarding checklist
- Final thoughts on offboarding
A definition of offboarding
Falling at the very end of the employee lifecycle, offboarding is the process of transitioning departing employees out of the business. When done well, it provides a smooth and positive experience for both the employee and the company.
Why is offboarding important?
Thoughtful offboarding can mitigate threats to the business, support talent attraction and retention, and drive a business forward. Consider the following benefits:
Benefits of offboarding to the organisation:
- Reduced chance of a security breach
- Reduced chance of legal action by the employee
- Enhanced reputation for the business
- Reduced disruption, to both the team and the business as a whole
- Higher morale among retained staff
- Easier transition for the employee’s replacement
- Invaluable insights from the employee
- Amicable separation
- Potential referrals from the employee for new talent
- Increased chance of the employee returning at a later date
Benefits of offboarding to the employee
- Chance to share honest opinions on the team and the business
- Chance to ask questions
- Chance to say goodbye to colleagues
- Clarity on their final pay cheque and benefits
- Amicable separation
What offboarding should include
Successful offboarding processes follow these steps:
Gathering insight
A formal offboarding process gives the business the chance to learn about itself. For example, if the employee initiated their own departure, it may be because they perceive a problem with the business, or the way it’s run, that leaders or HR teams aren’t aware of. Understanding what led to the employee resigning provides the business with a chance to revise its strategies and processes and address personnel issues. This will not only benefit business operations, but also staff retention.
Formal offboarding makes securing this insight much easier. This is often done in the form of an exit interview or employment survey. They can provide insights into:
- Problem areas
- Employee retention issues
- Reasons for resignation
- Work culture
- Development opportunities
- Compliance issues
- Cost management
Expert tip: Collate exit interview data in one place, in order to conduct trend analysis and highlight common issues with senior leadership.
IT security and compliance
Excellent offboarding isn’t just about holding an exit interview. It also extends to protecting sensitive company data. Poor offboarding can expose a business to serious security risks, so strict protocols need to be followed in order to prevent departing employees from retaining access to company systems or leaking classified data.
Even with a highly trusted employee, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Therefore, your offboarding process should include an IT security and compliance policy, which should include:
- Preparing a distribution list: List the departments and contacts that need to be informed about employee departures, so that they can take any action necessary.
- Disabling logins: All accounts that the employee can access need to be closed both on premise and in the cloud.
- Forwarding: Both emails and phone calls need to be redirected to the relevant colleagues until the employee’s account is deleted. There should be a defined amount of time between departure and closure, in case the employee is the sole contact for key partners or clients.
- Reviewing contacts: If the employee is listed as the primary contact for a project, client, or brand, tasks need to be reassigned to keep the business moving forward.
Easing transition for the business
Employee departures can be disruptive, both for their team and the business as a whole. Colleagues may need to pick up slack in unfamiliar areas, which may result in reduced productivity, reduced revenue, and lower morale.
This can be alleviated by a robust offboarding programme. The departing employee should be asked to document their routine and project work. This way, their remaining colleagues have a point of reference when the employee has left and their replacement will be able to hit the ground running.
Expert tip: Aim to recruit a replacement for the departing employee before their final day, to allow time for knowledge transfer.
Easing transition for the employee
Whatever the reason for leaving, the transition can be stressful for the employee. They may be feeling apprehensive about their next steps, worried about leaving their colleagues to pick up after them, or anxious about a big change in their life. The company can make the process easier for them with a supportive and transparent offboarding process.
Inform them when they will receive their final pay cheque and when their benefits will end. Also allow them to announce their departure on their own terms, empowering them to release the information without stoking rumours.
If the departure is the result of a layoff, consider providing outplacement services. The best ones offer career coaching, CV and LinkedIn profile optimisation, networking opportunities, virtual support, and online tools to support the transition to a new role. They also enable employees to get back into a new role sooner than they otherwise would.
What good offboarding looks like
Whatever the reasons for the employee’s departure, it should always be a positive experience. That means putting as much effort into offboarding as you do into onboarding. Depending on the circumstances, you may want to consider a leaving party or a speech acknowledging their contributions to the business.
Burning bridges is certainly to be avoided. Your departing employee has the potential to damage your employer brand by speaking negatively to other professionals or creating harmful online posts.
On the other hand, a positive offboarding experience can lead to an enhanced employer brand. Employee referrals reduce both time and cost to hire and the departing employee may even rejoin again in the future. This is known as the Boomerang Effect and shows why it’s so important to treat employees respectfully as they exit the business. Graceful offboarding can improve both retention and reputation.
The time taken to complete the offboarding process can vary. For example, a senior executive may take longer to offboard than their entry-level colleague and their notice period is likely to be longer too.
Expert tip: Ensure the offboarding process aligns with the termination policy.
An offboarding checklist
As with many processes, a checklist can make it easier to track progress. An offboarding checklist will also reduce the chance of mistakes being made or stages being missed.
To ensure a seamless transition, your checklist should include:
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- Communication: Notify all relevant departments about the departing employee and, if relevant, give the reason.
- Documentation: Secure signatures from the employee on all documentation relating to the termination of their employment.
- Knowledge transfer: Recruit a replacement for the employee and prepare files, process flows, due dates, live work, and other pertinent information.
- Exit interview: Request honest feedback from the employee and share relevant findings with leadership. Follow up issues that may result in future resignations.
- Asset recovery: Request the return of all company-owned equipment and assets, including phones, laptops, uniforms, keys, and security cards.
- Security: Remove IT access, close accounts, cancel the company credit card, and remove building access.
- Completion: Check every stage of the process is completed and clear out their desk or office space.
Final thoughts on offboarding
We’ve shown how a good offboarding process is as important to a business as a good offboarding process, bringing benefits for both the company and the departing employee. An offboarding checklist can help ensure that no stages are missed and provide a smooth transition for everyone.
Outplacement services are a great addition to your offboarding process during retrenchment and redundancy exercises, as they show you care, boost morale, and protect your employer brand.
In need of outplacement assistance?
At Careerminds, we care about people first. That’s why we offer personalized talent management solutions for every level at lower costs, globally.