It’s important to create a solid remote offboarding process before your employees leave
Lots of employers invest countless hours into creating an excellent remote onboarding process but have absolutely no offboarding process. So when it comes to seeing their employees leave for new opportunities, it can get messy.
We know that the last thing you want to do is make this harder than it needs to be. So you’re going to need a process if you want to handover responsibilities, get feedback and make a great final impression.
A good remote offboarding process will help you:
- Gather feedback from your employee.
- Tie up loose ends like login details in an organised, timely manner.
- Handover responsibilities before things begin to slip.
- Manage the paperwork to minimise the chances of encountering legal or HR issues.
- Create the impression that you’re a caring, friendly employer, leaving your company open to receiving positive reviews and even employing that same candidate in the future.
For startups, getting this process ironed out is essential. You can’t afford to let things slip for even a week.
If you’re not prepared, one of your key employees could leave your company – and your chances of success – in the dust.
So your company culture, data security and reputation could depend on your offboarding process. Let’s make it a good one.
If you need any help filling your empty position, the DigitalGrads team can help you make the transition a lot smoother with a talented junior.
How to create a great remote offboarding process
1 – Inform everyone involved
Depending on the size of your company, letting your team know could be a walk in the park or a bit of a struggle.
The first people that need to know about your soon-to-be departing employee is HR. Whether you outsource or have an internal team, they will have a lot of work to do.
Next, your IT team will need to know so they can arrange the termination of accounts and the handover of any log in information.
And finally, you can let your team members know. There are plus and downsides to this, but keeping everyone informed tends to minimise the chances of any rumours spreading through your team.
2 – Admin and paperwork
The next step is to draft up and send an acceptance of resignation letter to your employee.
In it, confirm their final day of work and any next steps or information you need to help things run smoothly from here on out.
The next things to think are on your internal systems. You’re looking for things like non-disclosure agreements, tax documentation and HR details. You don’t want your ex-employee getting an unearned paycheque in a month’s time!
This means checking that your employee isn’t waiting on any reimbursements and that they don’t have any outstanding leave to take.
3 – Start handing over
One thing you can’t forget is the handover. You can’t be running at half-speed just because you’re down one team member.
Be sure to arrange a handover of responsibilities, complete with any login details needed.
And if your employee was in a client-facing role, there’s more to remember. It’s important to introduce any of your current clients to their new point of contact in your organisation.
4 – Protect your data
Now it’s time to look at your IT offboarding process. It’s vital (for very serious data protection reasons) to make sure that every login that your old employee used is updated or deleted ASAP.
But there’s more to it than that. Make sure that any company equipment – like laptops – are also returned to you. Better to be safe than sorry!
Be sure to delete any data that breaches GDPR!
5 – Sort out an exit interview
The exit interview is the only part of this process that I can say is fun. Everything else so far has been boring paperwork and processes, but now you get to have some fun.
The exit interview is a powerful thing. In it, you can reaffirm someone’s love of your company… or make them despise you.
But it’s important to get your ex-employee’s feedback on their time with you. Here you’ll be able to get an insight into their reasons for leaving, your company culture, processes and even your onboarding methods.
We’ve created an article all about holding exit interviews and asking the right questions here.
6 – Arrange your goodbyes
I don’t know if you’re the type to give gifts to your departing employees, but the one time I was given a farewell gift was really special. It made me feel emotional about leaving and think of my time there and my coworkers very fondly.
Just a bunch of flowers sent through the post can make a big difference. It can keep your company in their mind as a positive thing. This is great for any Glassdoor reviews or future job applications they make to work with you again!
7 – Follow up
If you’ve worked with this person for a long time and they’ve really helped your business grow from idea to successful company, sending the occasional follow-up email is a good call. It’s also just a nice thing to do.
And be sure to get hiring for their replacement ASAP. If you need any help hiring a talented, trained junior we’ve got you covered.