Offboarding checklist: 6 steps & best practices
Let's face it, saying goodbye to employees is never easy. Whether they're leaving for a new opportunity, retiring after years of service, or moving on due to restructuring, the way you handle these exits matters. No one wants to deal with the headaches that come with a sloppy offboarding process, like forgotten paperwork, lingering access to sensitive data, or confusion over who's supposed to take over the departing employee's responsibilities.
But here's the thing: a little planning and preparation can go a long way in making offboarding a whole lot smoother for everyone involved. By creating a clear, step-by-step checklist, you can make sure nothing falls through the cracks and the employee leaves on a positive note.
In this article, we'll walk you through everything you need to include in your offboarding checklist, from the moment an employee gives notice to their final day and beyond.
What is offboarding?
In simple terms, offboarding refers to the process of managing an employee's departure from your organization. It encompasses all the activities and procedures involved in wrapping up an individual's employment.
Basically, if onboarding is all about welcoming new hires with open arms, offboarding is about making sure they have a graceful exit—one that doesn't leave any loose ends for you or the company. Specifically, a solid offboarding process should aim to:
- Transfer the departing employee's knowledge and responsibilities to their successor
- Collect all company property and revoke access to systems and data
- Process final pay and benefits
- Gather honest feedback through exit interviews
- Maintain a positive relationship with the employee post-departure
Onboarding vs offboarding
While onboarding and offboarding mark the beginning and end of the employee lifecycle, they serve distinct purposes. Onboarding welcomes new hires, acclimating them to the company culture and equipping them for success. Offboarding, conversely, ensures a smooth departure, focusing on knowledge transfer, asset recovery, and maintaining positive relationships. Both processes are important for different reasons—one to build new working relationships, the other to end them properly.
Why is offboarding important?
A structured offboarding process is essential for several reasons:
- It keeps you compliant: Depending on your industry and location, there are likely a host of laws and regulations surrounding employee terminations and resignations, from COBRA notifications to final pay requirements. An offboarding checklist helps ensure you don't miss any crucial legal steps that could come back to haunt you later.
- It protects your data and intellectual property: A departing employee can take more than just their personal effects with them—they may also have access to sensitive company data, client lists, and proprietary information. An offboarding checklist that includes steps for revoking access and returning company property can help prevent costly data breaches and IP theft.
- It sends the right message: How you treat employees on their way out the door says a lot about your company culture and values. A structured, thoughtful offboarding process shows that you respect your employees and value their contributions, even as they move on to new opportunities.
- It helps you continuously improve: Exit interviews and feedback gathered during offboarding can provide invaluable insights into what your company is doing well and where you may need to improve. By formalizing this step in your offboarding checklist, you can ensure you're consistently gathering this crucial data to drive positive change.
6 offboarding best practices
Ready to kick your offboarding process into high gear? These best practices will help you create a checklist that's thorough, thoughtful, and tailored to your team's needs:
Start early and be proactive
Don't wait until an employee's last day to start thinking about offboarding. As soon as you know someone's leaving, it's time to put your plan into action. That means looping in key stakeholders, setting up knowledge transfer sessions, and giving yourself plenty of buffer time to handle the logistics. As soon as an employee gives notice, schedule a meeting with them to go over next steps and expectations. That way, everyone's on the same page.
Cover all your bases
A good offboarding checklist leaves no stone unturned. That means thinking through everything from the obvious (collecting company property) to the easily overlooked (transferring ownership of the employee's files). The more comprehensive your checklist is, the less likely you are to face any unpleasant surprises down the road.
Create a knowledge transfer plan
When a departing employee walks out the door, you don't want years of knowledge and skills walking out with them. That's why it's so important to build dedicated time for knowledge transfer into your offboarding process. You could have the departing employee create a "playbook" for their role that covers their key responsibilities, processes, and contacts. Make it a template other employees can use when they leave to keep that knowledge flowing.
Celebrate the employee’s contributions
Taking a moment to acknowledge and appreciate a departing employee's contributions is a great move that can leave a lasting positive impression. Organize a farewell gathering or send a company-wide email acknowledging the employee's achievements and wishing them well in their future endeavors. This helps maintain a positive atmosphere and shows that your company values its employees.
Maintain a positive relationship
In the same vein, offer departing employees support during their transition and consider providing references or networking opportunities if appropriate. By treating them with respect and maintaining a positive connection, you increase the likelihood that they will speak positively about their experience and recommend your company to others.
Automate where possible
These days, there's no reason to torture yourself with endless manual paperwork and processes. With the right HR tools in place, you can automate a huge chunk of the offboarding process—from generating forms to tracking the return of company equipment. Look for an offboarding tool like Rippling that integrates with the rest of your HR software, so all your employee data is in one central place.
How to offboard an employee in 6 steps
Here's a step-by-step breakdown of what your offboarding process should look like:
Step 1. Notify relevant departments
Inform HR, IT, payroll, and other relevant departments of the employee's departure. Provide them with the necessary information, such as the employee's last day and reason for leaving. This helps ensure a smooth transition and allows each department to take the necessary steps to close out the employee's employment. Timely notification also prevents any delays or confusion during the offboarding process.
Step 2. Prepare paperwork and documentation
Gather and prepare all required documents, such as a resignation letter, non-disclosure agreements, and benefits termination forms. Ensure the employee signs and returns these documents promptly. It's also essential to maintain accurate records for legal and compliance purposes.
Step 3. Conduct an exit interview if applicable
Schedule an exit interview with the departing employee to gather feedback on their experience, reasons for leaving, and suggestions for improvement. Use this information to identify areas for organizational growth. Exit interviews provide valuable insights into your company's culture, management, and overall employee experience. Be sure to create a safe and confidential environment for the employee to share their honest feedback.
Step 4. Recover company assets
Ensure the employee returns all company property, such as laptops, cell phones, access cards, and keys. Verify that all items are accounted for and in good condition. Maintain a detailed inventory of all company assets assigned to each employee to facilitate this process. Failing to recover company assets can lead to security risks and financial losses.
Step 5. Revoke systems access
Work with IT to revoke the employee's access to company systems, email, and software on their last day. Change passwords for shared accounts and remove the employee from relevant distribution lists. This step is important for maintaining data security and preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information. Be sure to have a clear protocol in place for revoking access promptly and efficiently.
Step 6. Finalize compensation and benefits
Process the employee's final paycheck, including any outstanding expenses, commissions, or bonuses. Provide information on COBRA coverage and other benefits continuations, if applicable. Ensure all payments are accurate and timely to avoid any legal issues or disputes. Clearly communicate the status of the employee's benefits and provide guidance on how to proceed with any necessary transitions or continuations.
Offboarding checklist template
Download our free offboarding checklist template to streamline your process, customize it for your company's unique needs, and ensure a smooth and organized employee departure process.
Automate employee offboarding with Rippling
By now, it should be crystal clear that a solid offboarding checklist is an absolute must for any HR or people manager. But even with a checklist in hand, offboarding can still be a time-consuming, tedious process—especially if you're juggling multiple employee exits at once. That's where Rippling comes in.
Rippling is an intuitive, all-in-one HR platform that takes the hassle out of offboarding, with features like:
- One-click access revocation across integrated apps and devices
- Streamlined device recovery for remote employees
- Automated final pay and benefits calculations
- Secure document generation and storage
- Customizable exit surveys
With Rippling, you can offboard employees with confidence, knowing that no detail will slip through the cracks. And by streamlining the process, you'll free up time and mental energy to focus on what really matters—supporting your employees and driving your business forward.
Frequently asked questions
What should you ask during offboarding?
A thoughtful exit interview is a goldmine of insights to help drive continuous improvement. Some questions to consider:
- Why did you decide to leave the company?
- What did you enjoy most about your time here? What could have been better?
- Did you feel you had the support, resources and development to succeed in your role?
- How would you describe our culture and management? What could we do to improve?
- Would you recommend working here to others? Why or why not?
Focus on open-ended questions and listen actively to surface candid feedback and specific examples.
How long should the offboarding process take?
The short answer: it depends. In an ideal world, you want to give yourself at least 2 weeks to fully offboard an employee, from the time they give notice to their last day. For more senior roles, you might need even more time to ensure a comprehensive handover.
The key is to be as proactive and organized as possible, so you're not scrambling at the last minute. Having a solid checklist and clear timeline can help you stay on track, no matter how much time you have.
Who is responsible for the offboarding process?
Offboarding is a group effort. While HR usually owns the overall process and policies, execution requires close coordination with key partners like:
- The employee's manager (for knowledge transfer and communication)
- IT (for disabling accounts and collecting company tech)
- Finance (for processing final paychecks and expenses)
The key is to make sure everyone knows their role and has the info they need to get the job done. A little coordination can go a long way in making offboarding a smooth process for all.
This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of September 26, 2024.
Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
