Breakups are hard. You’ve gotta change your Netflix password, reclaim your favorite mug, and inform your friends of the change in your relationship status. But it’s nothing compared to the rigmarole that is offboarding an employee.
Lucky for you, a quality offboarding process can save you time, energy, and heartbreak—as long as you plan accordingly.
What’s offboarding? The process varies based on the company and its needs, but generally speaking, offboarding formally ends an employee’s tenure with an employer and should include a few central components, according to SHRM.
HR will typically have the employee sign any paperwork relevant to their exit (including privacy agreements), review documentation (such as information on when their benefits will end), and return any company equipment and technology.
The process should be consistent for every departing employee and involve several departments in addition to HR, including finance and IT. Some HR experts also recommend conducting an exit interview to better understand why an employee is leaving and how the business can do better moving forward.
“A well-managed offboarding process can turn employees into loyal alumni who become customers, suppliers, boomerang employees, mentors to current workers and ambassadors for the firm,” Erin Makarius, associate professor of management at the University of Akron, Ohio, told SHRM.
Consider security risks. With the workforce more digitized and distributed than ever before, HR leaders should consider the safety of their organization’s intellectual property and other sensitive information. In fact, 35% of medium and large US companies have had former employees access corporate software without authorization at a rate of 5% or more, according to a 2022 report from software provider Oomnitza.
Twitter reportedly had this experience late last year. Employees who had resigned could still access the company’s internal communication systems like Slack, according to Insider. Keep reading here.—KP