20 of February, 2025

The process of company onboarding is as important as the process of company offboarding. It’s essential to be clear about all the steps that will be taken and to do it in the correct way so that it is beneficial for both parties.

A rocky exit will reflect on the brand image and will completely break the relationship with talent.

What is company offboarding

Company offboarding is the process of severing a worker’s ties with the organization. It can be voluntary or involuntary, but either way, it remains a fundamental part of any organization’s HR department management.

Many experts define it as the final phase of recruitment and staff selection, the closing of the procedure. Its objective is to ensure that the employee’s exit occurs smoothly and as cordially as possible.

Though it may seem like a simple task, conducting appropriate company offboarding requires careful planning and implementation. It encompasses everything from announcing what will be the worker’s last day, to the exit interview.

How to create a company offboarding

Well-managed company offboarding improves the company’s reputation and helps retain talent. It includes a series of tasks and activities that should be performed before, during, and after your worker’s departure.

Prepare a company offboarding plan

For successful company offboarding, planning is key. Therefore, you should design and establish a detailed plan of the process. It can identify the tasks and timelines in which it will be carried out.

An effective method to not forget any of the steps and keep track of everything is to make a checklist. Additionally, you can prepare the questions you’d like to ask during the farewell interview. You can use them for all offboarding, saving you time.

Collect the necessary documentation

Once you have clarified what is necessary for the company offboarding process, gather all the documents this requires. It often includes employment contracts, confidentiality agreements, performance evaluations, and others alike.

When the employee decides to leave, the document that indicates you should start the company offboarding is the formal resignation letter. Make sure it specifies the delivery day and their last day of work.

Calculate the last payment

Include calculating the salary for the last days worked, unused vacation days, bonuses, and so on. A HR management software is perfect for this moment, as it will keep track of all these data.

Inform the team

To maintain the good image of the company in the employees of the staff, a good practice is to inform them of their colleague’s severance before they find out through rumors.

It is usually done about ten days before their last day and there are several ways to communicate it. Each company has its methods, but the most sincere are through a small meeting with the closest team and with an email or formal communication to the rest.

Inform the clients

If the employee has direct interaction with clients, it is important to inform them of the situation. Likewise, you should provide them with a smooth transition to the new way of work. They must be clear that the company will remain 100% committed to them.

The same moment of communication can be used to introduce the new person in charge of their project, in case there already is one.

Plan the handover of their tasks

As part of the company offboarding process, identify the employee’s responsibilities and organize their transfer. It is usually distributed among the rest of the work team or hire another person in their place.

Retrieve the material owned by the company

If the company has lent any assets to its worker, you must ensure they return everything before finalizing their exit. These can be electronic devices, access cards, keys, etc. This is another time when a company offboarding checklist is very useful.

Exit interview

In this final chat between the employee and one of the HR members, you should take advantage to get the worker’s feedback. Collect their comments, suggestions, and opinions to improve the experience in the company.

Furthermore, it’s the perfect opportunity to demonstrate humility and for the employee to preserve a good image of the organization.

Worker’s farewell

There are different ways to carry out a farewell in the company offboarding. You can appreciate their contribution and time dedicated to the company in a card, through a gift, or even, if the closeness is greater, with an event. This will leave them with a good taste.

Invalidate their permissions and accounts

On the employee’s last working day, revoke the access permissions to the system, databases, and company accounts. It’s very important to ensure the information’s security and protect the assets.

Follow up on the employee

In no case should there be total severance from talent. Maintaining a positive relationship is the best option, because they might associate with your organization in some way again in the future.

For this, you can cordially contact them occasionally on LinkedIn or just interact with them through their updates on this social network.

3 advantages of having a company offboarding plan

There are many advantages to having a company offboarding plan, but these are the most striking:

A smooth transition, more effectively and without forgetting any of the essential steps.
Talent retention. When the rest of the staff realizes they are working for a company that cares about its employees, it generates trust and commitment to the company.
Reduced risks. The offboarding plan prevents the company from forgetting to deliver an important document to the outgoing employee, pay them appropriately, or communicate it to the affected clients.

Are you working on creating your company’s offboarding plan? Don’t forget that a personnel manager like a HR software can help you. With the wide variety of tools it offers, you will have all the steps to follow and the necessary documents for the process at a single click.

Customer-oriented, both internally and externally, specializing in the definition and implementation of HR policies, as well as talent management, recruitment, and retention. Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, organization, and team coordination skills. Over 12 years of experience in Human Resources.

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iriserrador

HR Content Specialist

How to carry out a step-by-step employee offboarding in the company