Offboarding: A Guide to a Successful Departure Process

Understanding Offboarding

Offboarding refers to the procedures and practices implemented by a company when an employee leaves. This term, translated as "departure process," goes beyond simply handing over work tools (cards, IT equipment, etc.). It's a series of administrative and human steps, aimed at allowing an employee to leave the company professionally and organized.

Offboarding occurs at the end of an employee's lifecycle in the company, after onboarding (integration) and internal development. It may involve different scenarios: resignation, dismissal, retirement, or other forms of employment termination.

It's crucial to note that the departure process shouldn't be neglected as it contributes to the company's employer brand and can thus influence the perception of potential candidates. Well-managed offboarding shows the company's respect for its employees, regardless of the circumstances of their departure.

Why Is Offboarding So Important? Rarely mentioned and less known than welcoming new employees, offboarding is nevertheless an integral part of a thought-out employer brand. Whether voluntary or involuntary, an employee's departure is a significant moment for both the employee and the company.

The offboarding process involves several steps:

• Informing other employees about the departure.
• Managing various administrative procedures related to the departure (mainly handled by HR and IT departments).
• Planning an exit interview with the manager and/or HR department.
• Organizing a departure event to thank the employee.

The end of a contract doesn't generally mark a definitive break between the employee and their former employer. A departing employee remains an ambassador, who will continue to discuss their time at the company within their network. Therefore, the experience they had can reflect on potential clients or future talents. It's important to manage their departure well!

Role of HR in Offboarding

HR plays a central role in offboarding. This department oversees managing the transition in the best conditions: task transfer, deactivating access, equipment retrieval, etc. It also must ensure the protection of confidential information during an employee's departure. Additionally, HR is responsible for the administrative aspect of the departure (contract termination, resignation letters, etc.) and plays a crucial role in internal and external communication about the departure, to maintain a good company image.

The Importance of a Well-Organized Offboarding Process

A well-organized offboarding process offers multiple benefits for both the company and the departing employee. It ensures a smooth transition of responsibilities, helps to maintain professional relationships, and allows for efficient knowledge transfer. Moreover, it's an opportunity to gain valuable feedback from the employee about their experience within the company. Conversely, poorly managed offboarding can harm the company's reputation and hinder its attractiveness to future talents. Therefore, it's crucial to implement clear and transparent procedures to manage departures respectfully and effectively.

The Different Stages of Offboarding

"Each departure of an employee requires a series of actions, with different actors involved in the offboarding process. The SIGMA-RH personnel management module allows organizing all this in the form of a checklist. All concerned parties are notified of the tasks to be performed," explains Alexandre Liard, Director of Infrastructure and Security at SIGMA-RH. And this is the great strength of HR digitalization: mechanizing processes to better follow and share them.

Preparation for the Employee's Departure The preparation for the employee's departure is a crucial phase of offboarding. It includes several key actions:

• Developing a roadmap: This should list the steps to follow, the people to inform, and the deadlines to respect.
• Planning a retro-planning: This involves defining dates for each action to be carried out.
• Planning knowledge transfer: The departing employee must pass the baton to their successor or another team member to ensure business continuity.
• Organizing the collection of company equipment: It's necessary to retrieve work tools (computer, phone, access badge...) and deactivate access to IT tools.

Internal Communication on the Departure

Internal communication about an employee's departure is a delicate step that requires careful preparation. The goal is to inform teams clearly and transparently while respecting the feelings of the departing employee.

It is recommended to announce the departure quickly to prevent the news from spreading through other channels, which could create rumors and

Administrative Management of Departure

The administrative management of departure is a crucial step that must be carried out meticulously to avoid any future disputes. It involves several actions:

• The preparation of a final account statement summarizing the amounts owed to the employee upon their departure (salary, bonuses, indemnities, unused paid leave, etc.).
• The termination of contracts (insurances, subscriptions, etc.).
• The return of equipment (computer, phone, vehicle, etc.).

The regularization of access (codes, passwords, keys, etc.). It is recommended to develop an administrative checklist to ensure that nothing is overlooked. This also helps to standardize the departure process, regardless of the reason for departure (resignation, dismissal, retirement, etc.).

Exit Interview: A Key Moment

The exit interview is a crucial stage in the offboarding process. It's a unique opportunity to obtain feedback from the departing employee. This is a formal meeting, often led by a member of the human resources department or a team leader and should take place in a safe and respectful environment.

The objective of this interview is to understand the reasons behind the employee's departure. The information gathered during this interview can be invaluable for the company: it allows for the identification of potential internal issues and the evaluation of improvement areas to retain talent and enhance the experience of current and future employees.

To conduct an effective exit interview, it is appropriate to prepare relevant questions that cover different themes, such as the employee's experience within the company, the reasons for their departure, and their suggestions for improving the company. It is crucial to create a climate of trust, encouraging the employee to speak openly and honestly.

IT Security in the Departure

Process IT security during an employee's departure is a crucial aspect for any company. When an employee leaves, they take not only their experience but also potentially access to the company's sensitive data. Properly managing these access rights is essential to prevent the risk of information leaks or breaches in the information systems.

The departure process should include the systematic revocation of access to IT systems and the retrieval of company equipment. This includes:

• Deactivating email accounts.
• Access to internal networks.
• Any mobile devices or external storage associated with the company.

“There is a significant challenge in the offboarding process regarding data protection, especially personal, confidential, and strategic data. It's essential to inventory which employees have access to which tools, based on their role in the company, to properly deactivate all access upon an employee's departure. This is a way to protect the company's data and prevent malicious use in case of a problematic departure,” explains Alexandre Liard.

The use of automated solutions, such as SaaS management platforms, can simplify the deprovisioning process, thus ensuring a secure and data-loss-free transition. These practices are essential to maintain the integrity of the company's information and preserve its reputation in terms of data security.

Offboarding and Specific Cases: Retirement, Dismissal, Voluntary Departure

Managing a Collaborator's Retirement

Managing a collaborator's retirement requires a specific approach. The first step is anticipation. Discuss the retirement with your employee in advance. Then, see to the different stages.

Skills Transfer: Senior employees often possess unique expertise. Therefore, it is crucial to organize the transfer of these skills to younger collaborators. This can be done through training, mentoring, or documentation.

Administrative Management: Administrative procedures related to retirement are numerous and complex. For instance, it's necessary to ensure the continuation or termination of the collaborator's insurance.

Communication: The announcement of an employee's retirement should be done tactfully and respectfully. It is also important to prepare something to celebrate the employee's career and allow them to leave on a positive note.

Transition: The arrival of a new collaborator to replace the future retiree should be anticipated and well-prepared. Ideally, a handover period should be planned between the two. In summary, managing a collaborator's retirement requires good preparation and careful monitoring of the different stages.

Offboarding in Case of Dismissal How to Do It?

Offboarding in the case of dismissal requires the utmost delicacy. Firstly, it's recommended to clearly explain the reasons for the dismissal to the concerned employee. This explanation should be done privately to respect confidentiality. Adequate internal communication is also important to prevent rumors and ensure team cohesion. Next, the transition of tasks from the dismissed employee to other team members or a new recruit is essential to ensure work continuity. It's also important to retrieve all company equipment and deactivate the employee's access to tools and systems to avoid data breaches. Finally, an exit interview can be useful to gather the employee's perspectives and improve the departure process.

Managing the Departure Process in Case of Resignation

In Quebec, when an employee chooses to terminate their employment contract on their own initiative, it constitutes a resignation. Although the Act Respecting Labour Standards does not formally require a notice of resignation, the Civil Code of Quebec recommends a reasonable period before leaving the job.

The employer is required to settle all amounts due to the employee, including:

• Salary.
• Overtime.
• Paid leave indemnities.

Additionally, the employer must issue an employment record detailing the eligible hours worked for insurance.

For more information on voluntary departures and labor standards, visit the Government of Canada website.

How to Explain a Collaborator's Departure to the Team?

The announcement of a collaborator's departure to the team should be done with tact and transparency. It is advisable to gather the team in person to explain the situation and answer questions. For teams that do not work directly with the departing collaborator, an announcement by email may suffice.

Here are some tips for managing the announcement:

• Prepare what you wish to say to the team.
• Announce the departure quickly to avoid rumors.
• Be transparent about the reasons for the departure, while remaining respectful towards the departing employee.

Discuss any potential changes in work organization following the departure.

How to Improve the Offboarding Process?

Collecting Feedback from Departing Employees

Collecting feedback from departing employees can be a valuable source of information to improve the departure process. For this, it is essential to create an open and trusting environment where the employee feels comfortable sharing their experience.

It may be interesting to explore specific questions, such as the employee's perception of internal communication, task transition, or support from the HR department.

It is essential to treat these feedbacks constructively and use them to continuously improve the offboarding process.

You can use different methods to collect this feedback:

Exit Interview: This face-to-face meeting allows discussion of the employee's experience within the company and the identification of potential improvement areas.

Online Surveys: These tools, often anonymous, can help employees express themselves more freely.

Continuous Feedback: Collecting feedback throughout the offboarding period can help identify problems as they arise.

In conclusion, an effective departure process is a crucial aspect of talent management, reflecting a company's respect for its employees and strengthening its employer brand. By implementing best offboarding practices, companies can ensure a positive and professional departure experience, beneficial for both the departing employee and the organization.

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