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We’re well aware of onboarding procedures and how they help new hires fit in. While as much as providing a great onboarding experience for remote employees is vital, giving a great offboarding experience when they leave the organization is vital on many levels.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of offboarding, the best strategies, how to do it right, and what tips to follow to ensure a seamless transition.
Employee offboarding is the process followed when an employee leaves an organization. It is primarily managing an employee exit and the steps varies depending on whether the employee has resigned, been laid off, fired, or is retiring.
The offboarding process typically includes tasks such as collecting company property (e.g. ID badge, laptop, keys), revoking access to company systems and data, conducting exit interviews to gather feedback and insights from the departing employee, and communicating the employee's departure to coworkers and clients.
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Offboarding employees is pivotal for both the employee and the company. It maintains positive employer branding by ensuring that the departing employee leaves with a positive impression of the company and also facilitates a smooth transition of work by ensuring that tasks and responsibilities are reassigned promptly to the person taking over the role.
A well-managed offboarding process can leave a positive impression on the departing employee, who may share their experience with others. Make time to resolve any queries an employee may have, answer their questions, and ensure they leave the company on a positive note. This promotes a healthy relationship and reinforces your brand when they communicate about their experience with the company to their peers and on social media.
A positive offboarding experience can leave a lasting impression on the employee and contribute to their overall perception of the company. Employee experience has a significant impact on the way an organization’s culture is perceived. Hence, it is crucial to ensure a positive and smooth exit for your remote employees.
Employees leaving the organization might not be hesitant to share honest feedback when compared to employees currently working. Hence, use this opportunity to gather feedback on what areas can be improved, their experience with the organization, any setbacks and ways in which they can improve, and factors that led them to leave the organization (in case of resignation). Analysis and working on genuine feedback will help the organization improve and excel in improving its remote work culture.
Communicating with the team can help dispel rumors and speculation that might arise if the departure is not properly explained. By communicating with the team and acknowledging the contributions of the departing employee, management can help maintain morale and show that the organization values its employees. It also helps prevent unexpected delays and decreased productivity.
Conducting an exit interview is one of the best ways to gather employee feedback on what could have been done differently, and how the company can improve. It not only makes it easier for you to hire new talent but also serves as a way to improve the employee experience. The main agenda of an exit interview is to ask questions regarding their experience and to get feedback rather than to convince them to stay in the organization or provide feedback on their performance. Have a set of questions ready before the interview.
When an employee has left the company, it is mandatory to immediately restrict access to internal systems and also make sure that they hand over applicable company documents and assets.
Ideally, when an employee decides to leave the company, someone else will be taking over their responsibilities. Ensure that the departing employee creates a transition plan to move their tasks to reduce downtime. If possible, have the employee who’s leaving provide a virtual training or knowledge transfer session to educate their replacement on how to perform their tasks, smoothly.
When an employee joins a company, they usually sign a non-disclosure agreement or other documents. It is vital to review contracts and make sure that you have all the necessary information to protect your intellectual property and data.
Remember to process the final payroll or paychecks for an employee who is leaving the company. Review and consider any local employment regulations that may apply such as severance pay to process the final payroll. Ensure you communicate with the departing employee regarding any bonuses or severance packages before the final paycheck is processed.
Schedule a send-off meeting or a virtual call with the team and stakeholders. Also, it is a nice touch to write a thank you email or send a farewell gift as a token of appreciation from the team for the time spent together. It ensures that the employee leaving the company has a memorable farewell and positive experience before they depart from the company.
Ensuring a smooth offboarding process for remote employees is as important as onboarding them. While it can be challenging to provide an excellent offboarding experience while working in a remote team, partnering with an Employer of Record platform like Skuad makes it hassle-free.
Skuad helps you manage payroll, onboard and offboard employees and provide a great employee experience while working remotely.
To know more about how Skuad, book a demo!
The employee offboarding process can take one day or several months, depending on your employee's notice period and reason for termination. Some companies partner with an EOR platform to make offboarding employees more streamlined and automated.
Employee offboarding is a shared responsibility between the manager and the HR team. The HR team should guide an employee through all the necessary legal processes and paperwork they need to fill out to transition away from the company.
An offboarding checklist streamlines all the steps for an employee’s exit from an organization. A well-structured process mitigates security threats, provides valuable feedback for organizational growth, and can even improve the chances of regaining an employee who left voluntarily.
One of the key steps to follow while offboarding an employee is to conduct an exit interview. An exit interview is an excellent opportunity for you to gather insights into what’s working, and what can be improved, and understand their overall experience with the organization.
Catalina Wang is a Human Resource Consultant. She manages recruitment, onboarding, and contract administration staffing for many organizations and remote teams. She’s passionate about efficient HR management and the impact of tech on hiring practices.
