The days of the “one company man” (or woman) are gone. These days, many employees switch jobs several times during the course of their careers. However, very few employers pay attention to managing employees’ exits.
Employee offboarding is not just saying goodbyes, giving a reference letter, or offering a severance package. When done right, employee offboarding has many benefits for a company. These include avoiding lawsuits and security breaches, promoting knowledge transfer, and more.
So, how do you get it right?
That's what we're here to answer with our comprehensive guide.
Let’s get started!
What is Employee Offboarding?
Employee offboarding, also known as employee separation, is the process of ending an employee's association with an organization. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including retirement, resignation, termination, or the end of a contract.
Offboarding covers all the processes and decisions that take place when an employee leaves a company for whatever reason.
These include:
- Fulfilling state and HR requirements
- Capturing the employee's tacit knowledge gained on the job
- Deactivating access rights and passwords
- Returning company assets
- Getting feedback.
The goal of employee offboarding is to ensure that the separation process is handled smoothly and professionally, and that both the employee and the organization are treated with respect and dignity. By following a clear and consistent offboarding process, organizations can maintain good relationships with departing employees and avoid potential legal or reputational risks.
Difference Between Employee Onboarding and Employee Offboarding
Employee onboarding and employee offboarding are two important processes that are involved in the lifecycle of an employee within an organization.
Employee onboarding is the process of introducing and integrating a new employee into the organization. It typically involves activities such as providing orientation and training, assigning tasks and responsibilities, and introducing the employee to their coworkers and the organization's culture and values.
Meanwhile, as we mentioned before, employee offboarding is the process of separating an employee from the organization. It typically involves activities such as collecting company property, terminating access to company systems, providing necessary paperwork, and communicating the employee's departure to other employees and stakeholders.
Overall, the main difference between employee onboarding and employee offboarding is that the former focuses on introducing and integrating a new employee into the organization, while the latter focuses on separating and transitioning an employee out of the organization. Both processes are important for supporting employees and ensuring that the organization's operations run smoothly and effectively.
Who is Responsible for Employee Offboarding?
The responsibility for employee offboarding typically falls to the human resources (HR) department of an organization. HR is responsible for managing the employee lifecycle, including processes such as hiring, training, performance management, and separation.
In most organizations, the HR department will have a dedicated team or individuals who are responsible for overseeing the employee offboarding process. These individuals will typically work closely with the employee's manager and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the offboarding process is handled smoothly and efficiently.
The HR team will typically be responsible for coordinating the various activities involved in the offboarding process, such as collecting company property, terminating access to company systems, providing necessary paperwork, and communicating the employee's departure to other employees and stakeholders.
Additionally, the HR team may be responsible for conducting an exit interview with the departing employee, which can provide valuable information and feedback that can help to improve the organization's offboarding process and support future employees.
Goals of Employee Offboarding
The main goals of employee offboarding are to:
- Treat the departing employee with respect and fairness. The offboarding process should be designed to treat the departing employee with dignity and respect, regardless of the reasons for their separation from the organization. By following a clear and consistent offboarding process, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to their employees and their values.
- Facilitate the transition of the departing employee to their next job or opportunity. Employee offboarding should support the departing employee as they transition to their next job or opportunity. This can include providing access to resources, mentoring, or other forms of support that can help the employee to succeed in their next role.
- Retain and transfer the knowledge and expertise of the departing employee. When offboarding employees, the process should be designed to facilitate the transfer of the departing employee's knowledge and expertise to other employees who can continue to use it in their work. This can help to ensure that the organization's knowledge and expertise is not lost, and that it continues to grow and evolve over time.
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Minimize the impact of the departing employee's departure on the organization and its operations. Properly offboarding employees should minimize the impact of the departing employee's departure on the organization and its operations. This can include providing support and training to other employees who will be taking over the departing employee's work, and communicating the departure to other employees and stakeholders.
Employee Offboarding Process
The offboarding process typically begins when the decision is made to separate an employee from the organization. This decision can be made for a variety of reasons, such as the employee leaving voluntarily, being terminated for cause, or reaching the end of a fixed-term contract.
Regardless of the reason, the employee offboarding process is designed to ensure that the separation is handled smoothly and professionally, and that both the employee and the organization are treated with respect and dignity.
The employee offboarding process can be broken into three main periods, which each period containing several steps. The three main periods of the offboarding process are:
- Before an employee leaves
- The day an employee leaves
- After an employee leaves
Employee Offboarding Steps Before an Employee Leaves
- Issue a formal notice
- Initiate action with all departments associated with offboarding
- Start documentation
- Initiate knowledge transfer
- Conduct exit interview
1. Issue a Formal Notice
When an employee has to leave an organization, there should be a formal notice. So, the first step in employee offboarding is issuing or receiving a formal notice.
If the employees leaving are being laid off, you should issue the notice. But if they are resigning, then you should request a formal notice.
However, in the case of offboarding resignations, you should attempt to retain the employee. No company wants to lose critical employees. So, if an employee resigns from your company, you shouldn’t request a formal notice straightaway. Instead, it would be best if you first tried to get them to stay, as that helps employee retention.
Exiting employees may not necessarily want to leave the company. A one-on-one with departing workers may reveal that they want things you can offer, such as a bigger salary, better working hours, etc.
Sometimes, if the company can meet the needs, employees who want to leave may reconsider their decision. However, if your attempts fail, you should ask the employee for formal notice.
2. Initiate Action With Departments Associated With Offboarding
Different departments are associated with offboarding. These include HR, admin, IT, etc. Thus, after determining the employee’s last working date, it is important to communicate the news with the heads of every department associated with offboarding.
This process ensures that there is no loophole in the transition process. This is because it identifies the requirements that the employee needs to fulfill before leaving.
For example, the admin will list the company asset the person may need to return. Also, the finance department may audit the person’s account to know if there are outstanding loan obligations, etc.
3. Start the Documentation Process
Offboarding involves a lot of internal documentation. You should provide employees leaving the company with all paperwork relating to their exit. This includes state-specific separation forms, non-disclosure/ non-compete agreements, severance package agreements, etc.
You should also provide the form and portals that employees can use to submit information relating to their exit. Employees will need reimbursement requests to claim unused time-offs, travel allowances, and other employee benefits.
This is also an excellent time to prepare the exit interview questions.
4. Initiate Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge transfer is essential in the offboarding process because it ensures uninterrupted operations. It is the process where the employee leaving your organization transfers knowledge to their replacement.
It would be best if you planned for the time of the exiting employee and the new employee to overlap. This way, a new employee can learn "tricks of the trade" from the departing employee, especially tricks that can only be transferred in one-to-ones.
Know that tacit knowledge is usually not covered in the training materials. The skills and abilities an individual gains through experience are often difficult to document.
5. Conduct Exit Interviews
Conducting an exit interview with the departing employee helps you get valuable feedback about your offboarding process. The interview can help you gain insight into their experience and what they really think about your company.
You should endeavor to know:
- The employee’s reasons for leaving (if they are resigning)
- What the employee thinks about company culture, policies, and work ethic.
- The employee’s dynamics with his/ her manager
Know that departing employees may be reluctant to answer honestly in exit interviews. However, they may be more willing to provide honest answers to detailed questionnaires.
Employee Offboarding Steps on the Day an Employee Leaves
- Recover company assets
- Make the day memorable for the employee
- Collect contact details for post-exit communication
1. Recover Company Assets
Employees leaving a company must have been provided with some company assets to enable them to carry out their job effectively. These include laptops, hard disks, company credit cards, etc.
As part of the offboarding process, you must recover all company equipment with the outgoing employee on or before their last working day.
Company assets also include security access. You wouldn’t want an employee’s exit to bring security risks. So, recovering assets includes revoking all security clearances that the departing employee had. This includes:
- Collecting badges and IDs
- Collecting keys and access cards
- Disabling access to company emails
- Removing the employee from upcoming meeting calendars
Departing employees may need some of these properties until their last working day. So, you should recover these assets on the day they leave the company. However, you may recover assets earlier if that will not affect the employee’s ability to discharge their final jobs.
2. Make the Day Memorable
In some cases, making the day memorable for the departing employee may be a good idea, as it can show appreciation for their contributions to the organization and help to maintain a positive relationship. This could involve:
- Hosting a farewell party or gathering
- Presenting the employee with a parting gift or token of appreciation
- Simply thanking them for their service.
On the other hand, in some cases making the day memorable may not be appropriate or desirable. For example, if the employee is being terminated for cause, or if the separation is contentious, a more low-key approach may be more appropriate. In these situations, it may be better to focus on the administrative aspects of the offboarding process, such as collecting company property and providing necessary paperwork, rather than trying to make the day memorable.
Ultimately, the best approach will depend on the specific circumstances and the relationship between the organization and the departing employee. It is important to consider these factors carefully and communicate openly and transparently with the employee to determine the most appropriate course of action.
3. Collect Contact Details for Post-Exit Communication
Communication with an employee often continues even after the person leaves the organization. For example, you may need to reach the person about the documentation to be presented to the new employees. You may also need to reach the person about benefits documents.
Employee Offboarding Steps After an Employee Leaves
- Deactivate Access Rights
- Communicate the News
(Note: Depending on the specific circumstances and needs of the organization and the employee, additional steps may also be necessary. For example, some organizations may provide additional support or resources to help the employee transition to their next job, while others may have more complex legal or compliance requirements that need to be addressed).
1. Deactivate Access Rights
Terminate the employee's access to company systems, such as email, computers, and other resources. This will help to prevent unauthorized access and protect the organization's data and information.
2. Communicate the News
Communication is vital in the offboarding process. After finalizing an employee's exit, you should convey the news to relevant stakeholders within and outside the organization.
Within the organization, you must notify the team and management. It may also be important to inform clients, vendors, or external contacts that the employee had regular communication with.
The communication should not go into the details of the employee's departure. It should only be a notification that the employee is departing the organization. Offboarding communication should align with the company's communication policies.
How Long Does the Employee Offboarding Process Take?
The duration of the employee offboarding process can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the size and complexity of the organization, the reasons for the employee's separation, and the level of support and resources available.
In general, the employee offboarding process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the specific circumstances. For example, if the employee is leaving voluntarily and there are no outstanding issues or concerns, the offboarding process may take only a few days to complete.
On the other hand, if the employee is being terminated for cause, or if there are complex legal or HR issues that need to be addressed, the offboarding process may take longer to complete. In these cases, the duration of the process may depend on the availability of resources, the need for legal or HR support, and other factors.
By following an employee offboarding process, an organization can ensure that the process is handled efficiently and minimize any hiccups that many occur along the way.
Benefits of Having an Employee Offboarding Process
A good employee offboarding process can provide a number of benefits for the organization and its employees. By taking the time to plan and execute the offboarding process effectively, organizations can support their employees, protect their assets, and maintain positive relationships with departing employees.
Some of the benefits of creating an effective employee offboarding process for an organization include:
- Facilitate transfer of knowledge
- Maintain good relationships with departing employees
- Improve morale and retention among remaining employees
- Enhance brand image
- Prevent security issues
- Prevent legal risks
- Boomerang employees
1. Facilitates Knowledge Retention and Knowledge Transfer
When an employee departs your organization, they leave with critical operational knowledge making it critical to have a solid employee offboarding process in place. Doing so can help with the knowledge transfer process, by helping the organization to identify, retain, and transfer the knowledge and expertise of departing employees. By taking a proactive and strategic approach to offboarding, organizations can support their employees and maintain the integrity of their knowledge and expertise.
A few ways that employee offboarding can help with knowledge retention and transfer include:
- By conducting an exit interview with the departing employee, the organization can gather valuable information about their knowledge and expertise. This can include details about their work processes, key skills and competencies, and areas of expertise.
- By collecting this information, the organization can identify any gaps in knowledge or skills that may need to be addressed. This can help to ensure that the departing employee's knowledge and expertise is not lost, and that it is transferred to other employees who can continue to use it in their work.
- By providing training and support to other employees who will be taking over the departing employee's work, the organization can help to ensure that the transition is smooth and that the knowledge and expertise is retained. This can include providing access to resources, mentoring, or other forms of support.
- By establishing a process for ongoing knowledge transfer and sharing, the organization can create a culture of learning and development. This can help to ensure that employees are continuously learning and growing, and that the organization's knowledge and expertise is constantly evolving and improving.
2. Maintain Good Relationships With Departing Employees
A well-planned and executed offboarding process can help to maintain good relationships with departing employees, even after they leave the organization. This can be especially useful for employees who are leaving on good terms and may be interested in staying in touch or providing references in the future.
3. Improve Morale and Retention Among Remaining Employees
When employees see that the organization treats departing employees with respect and fairness, they are more likely to feel valued and engaged. This can help to improve morale and reduce turnover among remaining employees.
4. Enhance Brand Image
Your company brand is how the world sees you. Interestingly, offboarding affects your "employer brand" because it sends a message to the world.
How a company treats leaving employees sends a message about whether or not the company lives up to its values. Company values affect a business' success because people would only do business with companies that stand for something.
So, how you treat workers (even departing workers) affects how the world sees you. Any business wants its potential customers to see them in a good light.
Secondly, how you treat departing workers sends a message to your existing workers and job seekers alike. If the message passed is bad, your company may not be attractive to top talents.
5. Prevent Security Issues
As we mentioned earlier, of the key steps in the employee offboarding process is to collect company property from a departing employee. This helps to ensure that the organization's assets are accounted for and protected, and that the employee does not retain any unauthorized access or control over them.
Additionally, the employee offboarding process typically involves terminating the employee's access to company systems, such as email, computers, and other resources. This helps to prevent unauthorized access and protect the organization's data and information.
Furthermore, by conducting an exit interview with the departing employee, organizations can gather valuable information and feedback that can help to identify any potential security risks or concerns. This can include issues related to unauthorized access, data breaches, or other security problems that may need to be addressed.
Overall, employee offboarding can be an important part of managing security issues, by helping organizations to protect their assets and information, and identify and address any potential security risks. By taking a proactive and strategic approach to offboarding, organizations can support their employees and protect themselves from potential security threats.
6. Prevent Legal Risks
One of the main reasons an offboarding process is necessary is legal compliance as it helps to ensure organizations treat departing employees fairly, provide the necessary paperwork and support, and identify and address any potential legal issues. By taking a proactive and strategic approach to offboarding, organizations can support their employees and protect themselves from potential legal risks.
7. Boomerang Employees
The boomerang effect refers to the phenomenon of employees who leave an organization and then later return, either in the same position or in a different role. And this effect is on the rise as a survey from LinkedIn found that 4.5% of of all new hires in 2021 are "boomerang" employees which is up from 3.9% in 2019.
There's no denying that former employees can be an appealing source of new hires as they are already familiar with the organization's culture and typically require less training.
By following a good employee offboarding process, organizations can maintain good relationships with departing employees and support them as they transition to their next job. This can make it more likely that the employee will have a positive view of the organization and be open to returning in the future.
Additionally, by collecting contact details and staying in touch with departing employees, organizations can stay informed about their career developments and opportunities. This can help to identify potential opportunities for the employee to return to the organization, either in their previous role or in a different capacity.
Using a Knowledge Base to Help With the Offboarding Process
A knowledge base can be used to store and organize information about the offboarding process, including step-by-step guides, templates, and checklists. This can help to ensure that the offboarding process is consistent and efficient, and that all employees have access to the information and support they need.
A knowledge base can also be used to store and share information and expertise about the departing employee's work and responsibilities. This can help to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise from the departing employee to other employees who will be taking over their work.
More specifically, a knowledge base can help with knowledge retention and knowledge transfer during offboarding in some of the following ways:
- A knowledge base can be used to store and organize information about the departing employee's work and responsibilities. This can include details about their work processes, key skills and competencies, and areas of expertise.
- By storing this information in a central location, the organization can make it easily accessible to other employees who will be taking over the departing employee's work. This can help to ensure that the knowledge and expertise is not lost, and that it is transferred to other employees who can continue to use it in their work.
- A knowledge base can be used to provide training and support to other employees who will be involved in the offboarding process, such as managers and HR staff. This can include providing access to resources, mentoring, or other forms of support that can help to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise.
- By establishing a process for ongoing knowledge transfer and sharing, the organization can create a culture of learning and development. This can help to ensure that employees are continuously learning and growing, and that the organization's knowledge and expertise is constantly evolving and improving.
By leveraging the capabilities of a knowledge base tool, organizations can support their employees, retain and transfer valuable knowledge and expertise, and improve their overall organizational performance.
Wrapping Up
Organizations usually pay great attention to employee onboarding but overlook employee offboarding which can be a big mistake.
Treating departing employees with respect and fairness is simply the right thing to do, both ethically and morally. By following a good employee offboarding process, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to their employees and their values.
Additionally, a well-structured offboarding process protects the company from lawsuits and security breaches. It also enhances an organization's brand image, has the potential to maintain strong relationships with employees departing on good terms, and helps to improve morale and engagement among remaining employees.
Lastly, a good employee offboarding process can ensure knowledge retention by helping with knowledge transfer from departing employees. This is where Helpjuice can be a valuable way for supporting employee offboarding as our knowledge base software allows you to provide a central repository of information and expertise that can facilitate the transfer of knowledge and support the offboarding process.
Ready to deliver instant knowledge to your team via a knowledge base? Try a 14-day trial today!
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