How To Create an Offboarding Plan

Creating an offboarding plan is the first step in managing employee transitions effectively. A well-structured plan can help you safeguard company data, maintain productivity, and leave a positive impression on departing employees. This blog will guide you through developing an offboarding plan that leverages employee offboarding automation and establishes a robust employee offboarding policy. Designed as an offboarding guide for managers, this article will provide practical insights and tools to make sure that all necessary tasks are handled efficiently, reducing the risk of security breaches and ensuring a smooth transition. Let’s explore how to create a comprehensive offboarding plan.

What Is the Process of Offboarding?

Onboarding should be a structured workflow that effectively manages an employee’s departure from your company. It typically includes a series of steps designed to protect company data, retrieve assets, and create a smooth transition for both the employee and your company. For your IT team, this means coordinating closely with HR and other departments to address the different aspects of the employee’s exit, from revoking access to managing data and hardware. 

Why Is Offboarding Important?

Offboarding plays a big role in keeping your company secure. Consider the following statistics, from a recent study by Zippia: 

• A staggering 89% of former employees still have access to critical business applications like QuickBooks and Salesforce, which can pose serious security risks given the high turnover rates. 
• Shockingly, half of former employee accounts remain active for more than a day after departure, with 25% staying active for a week or longer, and another 25% for an unknown period.
• Insider threats are responsible for 60% of data breaches, with former employees having access being a significant risk. Human error contributes to over 80% of these breaches, highlighting the dangers of both accidental and malicious access. Among insider breaches, 44.5% are malicious, while 15.5% are accidental.

With the right offboarding process, you can mitigate these risks and keep your operations running smoothly. When an employee leaves, their tasks and responsibilities need to be reassigned promptly to avoid disruptions in projects and maintain productivity. Compliance is another big factor—many industries have strict rules about data access and security. Not handling offboarding properly can result in fines and legal troubles. Additionally, not deactivating accounts can mean paying for software licenses that aren't being used, which is a waste of resources.

By focusing on these areas, your  IT team can help make the offboarding process smooth and secure, benefiting the entire organization. It’s about protecting data, avoiding unnecessary costs, and keeping everything compliant and efficient​ 

What Are the Standard Offboarding Process Steps?

The standard offboarding process should be a joint effort between HR and IT. The steps typical include: 

1. Notification: HR informs all relevant departments about the employee's departure.
2. Access Revocation: IT immediately revokes access to all company systems, including email, databases, and applications.
3. Data Backup and Transfer: All work-related data is backed up and transferred to appropriate team members.
4. Asset Collection: Company-owned devices such as laptops, mobile phones, and security badges are collected and wiped.
5. Exit Interview: An exit interview is conducted to gather feedback and insights from the departing employee.
6. Final Payroll and Benefits: The final paycheck is administered and HR handles the continuation or termination of benefits.
7. Compliance and Documentation: HR and IT check to make sure all legal and company policy requirements are met, and documents the entire process for future reference.
8. Communication: HR informs the team about the departure and any changes in responsibilities.

How Do You Create an Offboarding Process?

Creating an effective offboarding process requires careful planning and the right tools. Here are the steps to build a comprehensive offboarding process:

1. Evaluate Your Current Process: Start by reviewing your existing offboarding procedures to identify any gaps or inefficiencies.
2. Define the Steps: Outline the specific tasks that need to be completed, such as revoking access, collecting assets, and conducting exit interviews.
3. Develop an Offboarding Template: Create a detailed offboarding template that includes timelines, responsibilities, and checklists for each step of the process. This helps standardize the procedure and ensures consistency.
4. Invest in the Right Tools: Using comprehensive tools like Lumos can significantly enhance your offboarding process. With Lumos, you can leverage automation for tasks like account deactivation and data management, reducing the risk of human error and making the process more efficient and secure.
5. Train Your Team: Make sure that your HR and IT teams are trained on the new offboarding process and understand their responsibilities.
6. Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and update the offboarding process based on feedback and changing needs. This helps keep the process relevant and effective.

By using Lumos, you can automate and streamline your offboarding process—as well as your entire employee lifecycle management—making it easier to handle and reducing the potential for security risks. You’ll have a centralized platform to handle all aspects of employee transitions, from deactivating accounts to access reviews and beyond. 

Ready to see how Lumos can help you with access management? See it in action today.