What is an Employee Offboarding Checklist and Why You Need One

Offboarding is the process of transitioning an employee out of a company when they leave It involves administrative tasks like collecting company property and removing access to accounts It also includes steps to capture institutional knowledge and gain feedback through an exit interview.

Having a clear offboarding process ensures departing employees leave on good terms while protecting company assets. An employee offboarding checklist helps make this transition smooth for everyone.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• What is offboarding?
• The benefits of offboarding
• Key elements of an offboarding checklist
• Offboarding checklist template and examples
• Tips for an effective offboarding process

What Is Offboarding?

Offboarding is the opposite of onboarding. While onboarding welcomes new hires and gets them settled into their role, offboarding transitions departing employees out of the company.

Reasons an employee may leave a company include

• Resignation
• Retirement
• Layoffs
• Termination
• End of contract
• Health reasons
• Death

Whatever the reason, offboarding checklist provides a roadmap for the employee, manager, HR, IT, and other teams to complete necessary offboarding tasks.

Without a defined offboarding process, employees can end up leaving without returning company assets or sharing important information. An offboarding checklist prevents this.

The Benefits of Offboarding Employees

Taking the time to thoughtfully offboard employees has advantages for both the employee and the company.

For the employee:

• Closes out their tenure on a positive note
• Receives all owed payments
• Has support transitioning to a new job

For the company:

• Protects company assets and data
• Captures institutional knowledge before the employee leaves
• Can improve employer brand and rehire rates
• Gains feedback through exit interviews

Offboarding is especially important for employees in key roles or those at the company for many years. They likely have valuable knowledge and company relationships an organization won’t want to abruptly lose.

Key Elements of an Offboarding Checklist

A complete employee offboarding checklist contains both logistical tasks as well as steps to make the employee’s transition smooth.

Here are some key elements to include on an offboarding checklist:

Administrative Items

• Receive resignation letter – Get official notice in writing from the departing employee.
• Set last day – Confirm the employee’s final day at the company.
• Final pay – Calculate and process final paycheck(s) including accrued vacation.
• Paperwork – Employment verification, non-compete forms, benefit portability paperwork.
• Exit interview – Schedule exit interview with HR.
• Return company property – Badge, keys, laptop, cell phone, credit cards.
• Close accounts – Email, building access, software logins.

Knowledge Transfer

• Document processes – Have employee record step-by-step guides for their responsibilities.
• Organize files – Make sure the employee’s digital and paper files are organized for the next person.
• Cross training – Overlap with new hire or have employee train other team members on their work.

Employee Experience

• Announcement – Draft a company announcement about the employee departure.
• Farewell event – Plan a goodbye lunch or happy hour.
• Provide references – Offer to serve as a positive reference for the employee.
• Alumni program – Remind employee about alumni networks or boomerang rehiring policy.

Offboarding Checklist Template and Examples

The sections below provide an offboarding checklist template you can copy as well as examples by departure scenario.

Offboarding Checklist Template

Below is a simple offboarding checklist template covering the most common items.

• Receive resignation letter
• Set departure date
• Draft company announcement
• Schedule exit interview
• Complete employment verification form
• Document work processes
• Organize files
• Cross-train staff
• Return company property (keys, badge, laptop, etc.)
• Close email and software accounts
• Plan farewell event
• Calculate final pay
• Provide letter of recommendation

Offboarding Checklist Example by Scenario

The specific offboarding steps will vary depending on if the employee resigned, was laid off, retired, etc.

Here are offboarding checklist examples for different scenarios:

Resignation

• Get resignation letter
• Set departure date
• Begin recruitment
• Disable access to confidential info
• Conduct knowledge transfer
• Send company announcement
• Schedule exit interview
• Return company assets
• Plan farewell event
• Process final pay
• Provide letter of recommendation

Layoff

• Notify employee of layoff meeting
• Explain reason for layoff
• Provide severance terms
• Get signed severance agreement
• Disable email, building, and system access
• Conduct exit interview
• Collect company property
• Send company announcement
• Provide job search support

Retirement

• Confirm retirement date
• Begin recruitment/succession plan
• Schedule retirement party
• Create knowledge transfer plan
• Complete knowledge transfer
• Remove access to confidential data
• Process final pay and pension plan
• Send company announcement

Termination

• Consult legal counsel
• Notify employee of termination meeting
• Escort from building
• Disable access immediately
• Secure company property and data
• Process final pay
• Do not provide a reference

Tips for an Effective Offboarding Process

Here are some tips to ensure your offboarding checklists translate to smooth employee exits:

• Automate: Use HR software or project management tools to create automated offboarding checklists. This reduces manual tasks for HR.

• Start early:Kick off the offboarding process as soon as you receive a resignation letter. This gives you more time for knowledge transfer.

• Personalize: Adjust the process based on the employee’s tenure, role, and departure circumstances.

• Remove access quickly: Disable access to email, servers, tools, etc. on the employee’s final day.

• Over-communicate: Keep the employee informed about each step and any changes.

• Focus on knowledge transfer: Identify and document critical information before the employee leaves.

• Get feedback: Use exit interviews to identify improvements for retention and company culture.

Key Takeaways

Here are some key points about creating an effective offboarding checklist:

• Offboarding transitions employees out of the company when they leave.

• An offboarding checklist covers administrative tasks, knowledge transfer, and the employee experience.

• Well-planned offboarding protects company data and intellectual property.

• Tailor your offboarding checklists to different departure scenarios like resignation or termination.

• Automate tasks where possible and focus on knowledge transfer.

With these tips, you can create thorough offboarding processes that benefit both the employee and company. Automating repetitive tasks enables HR to focus on the human side of offboarding.

Start putting together your own offboarding checklists using the templates and examples provided. A little planning goes a long way to smooth transitions for everyone.