Offboarding

What is offboarding?

Offboarding is the process of formally separating a departing employee from a company. Offboarding takes place regardless of the reason an employee leaves their role—whether they choose to resign or are terminated. It includes all the steps an organization takes to make the transition smooth for both the company and the employee, including returning company assets, facilitating knowledge transfer, conducting exit interviews, and more.

Example: When employee turnover occurs, we ask the departing employee to participate in an exit interview with their HR partner.

Best practices for the employee offboarding process

When organizations optimize and streamline employee offboarding, the process can have an enormous positive impact on company culture, as well as the morale of remaining employees. Therefore, it’s important to develop an intentional and comprehensive offboarding process that makes an employee’s departure as smooth as possible.

While a successful offboarding program includes tasks like returning company property to the organization, perhaps the most important aspect is facilitating knowledge transfer from departing employees. Ensure that processes are in place to take stock of the knowledge and documentation that is managed by the employee and set up any training necessary with team members or managers. 

By setting up your offboarding processes thoughtfully and strategically, you make the transition smoother for both departing and remaining employees, giving you the best possible chance of re-hiring top performing former employees.