{"id":43773,"date":"2023-01-27T18:51:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T02:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/?p=43773"},"modified":"2023-01-27T18:51:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T02:51:44","slug":"the-ultimate-employee-offboarding-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/education\/the-ultimate-employee-offboarding-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Employee Offboarding Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Ultimate Employee Offboarding Checklist<\/strong><\/p>\n

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DAVID PAGOTTO<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.17.3″ text_font=”PT Serif||on||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”16″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px||60px|” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

David Pagotto is the Founder and Managing Director of SIXGUN, a digital marketing agency based in Melbourne. He has been involved in digital marketing for over 10 years, helping organizations get more customers, more reach, and more impact.<\/p>\n

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It is critical to have a strategic employee offboarding checklist in place for when an employee leaves. The employee offboarding process should be done with respect and care. So, your off-boarding checklist should not only guide your employees through returning employer assets but should also make them feel valued.<\/p>\n

That will benefit you, the employer, in various ways. For one, it protects your reputation by reducing legal and security liabilities. It also helps you get honest feedback so that you may improve your processes. If a leaving employee is a top talent, you boost your chances of rehiring them in the future.<\/p>\n

This post will walk you through the five elements your employee offboarding checklist should have.<\/p>\n

Communicate employee\u2019s departure<\/h4>\n

When an employee leaves, you should communicate the intended departure to existing employees. This can benefit the employee because it prevents any potentially damaging gossip about their departure. This benefits you as the employer, too. When there are no office rumors<\/a>, your existing employees don\u2019t get distracted from their actual work.<\/p>\n

Besides, when you announce an employee\u2019s departure, you technically also announce that their job position will soon be available. Chances are, current employees interested in the position will approach you about their intent to apply. If they are qualified for the post, you can cut short your recruitment process for that position because you already have a pool of candidates to choose from.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not all. If you end up hiring a successor from within the organization, you end up not spending as much for recruitment either. According to SHRM, internal recruitment is less expensive than external recruitment. After all, you typically don\u2019t have to train an existing employee who is already familiar with the organizational culture<\/a> and processes.<\/p>\n

Make sure you and the employee who\u2019s leaving agree on a time and place for the announcement. Ask them if they would like their reasons for leaving the broadcast. If they don\u2019t want the reasons announced, then respect their decision.<\/p>\n

Facilitate transfer of knowledge to a successor<\/h4>\n

If you\u2019ve chosen a successor before the employee\u2019s departure, then you might want to arrange a meeting between the two of them. Ask the departing employee to teach everything the successor needs to know about the new role during the meeting.<\/p>\n

Make sure, though, that the teaching isn\u2019t done verbally alone. Although it\u2019s good for the successor to know the job-related theory, what matters the most in the workplace is how this theory is applied. That\u2019s something the departing employee should show the successor, too.<\/p>\n

So, ask the employee who\u2019s leaving to show the successor the new equipment to be used, if any, and the process to be followed in specific situations. They should also physically show their successor where to go for sign-offs and whom to report to. For this, you can also arrange a meeting between the successor and their new bosses.<\/p>\n

When an employee leaves, employers should ensure there is no disruption in work operations. You can prevent this disruption by facilitating the transfer of knowledge to the employee who will fill the soon-to-be-vacated job post. Remember, there\u2019s no better person to teach what an employee should know to perform their new role well than their predecessor.<\/p>\n

Prepare an asset handover checklist<\/h4>\n

Employees carry out their duties using tools provided by the employer. When the employee is about to leave, it is crucial to get these things back. These things can be physical and non-physical items. Items considered tangible include computers, cash, and credit cards. Non-physical items include software licenses and installs, user allocations, and product access.<\/p>\n

The Human Resources department, Employer of Record<\/a>, and asset management must work closely to retrieve the assets. They should develop an off-boarding asset handover checklist.<\/p>\n

To make it easier to develop such a list, it\u2019s best to create a list of all the employer items handed over to your employees as soon as they\u2019re hired. You can base your offboarding asset handover checklist on this onboarding list. If you don\u2019t have an onboarding process<\/a> in the first place, you\u2019ll have to check with the departing employees’ supervisors and colleagues to create the offboarding list.<\/p>\n

When the items have been returned, make the necessary updates to your management database.<\/p>\n

Conduct the exit interview<\/h4>\n

One of the critical items on the employee offboarding checklist is an exit interview. Exit interviews often include conversations regarding employee experiences, and their reasons for leaving, among others.<\/p>\n

Employees leaving voluntarily are usually open to having an honest discussion with the employer. If the employee agrees to offer an exit interview, your off-boarding program can provide you with valuable information for your recruitment marketing<\/a>. You may learn about areas that need to be strengthened to increase employee retention and productivity and boost your market position regarding salary benefits and incentive programs.<\/p>\n

To get the most out of the exit interview, carefully structure and prepare the questions. Make sure you ask direct and specific questions. Here are some exit interview questions to consider:<\/p>\n