Breakups are hard. You’ve gotta change your Netflix password, reclaim your favorite mug, and inform your friends of the change in your relationship status. But it’s nothing compared to the rigmarole that is offboarding an employee. Lucky for you, a quality offboarding process can save you time, energy, and heartbreak—as long as you plan accordingly.

Offboarding is a team sport: Follow these steps

What’s offboarding?

The process varies based on the company and its needs, but generally speaking, offboarding formally ends an employee’s tenure with an employer and should include a few central components, according to SHRM. HR will typically have the employee sign any paperwork relevant to their exit (including privacy agreements), review documentation (such as information on when their benefits will end), and return any company equipment and technology. The process should be consistent for every departing employee and involve several departments in addition to HR, including finance and IT. Some HR experts also recommend conducting an exit interview to better understand why an employee is leaving and how the business can do better moving forward. “A well-managed offboarding process can turn employees into loyal alumni who become customers, suppliers, boomerang employees, mentors to current workers and ambassadors for the firm,” Erin Makarius, associate professor of management at the University of Akron, Ohio, told SHRM.

By Kristen Parisi

January 20, 2023

Amelia Kinsinger

“A well-managed offboarding PROCESS

can turn employees into LOYAL alumni.”

The rising tide of ransomware attacks in healthcare is exacting a hefty price from hospitals and other medical providers who’ve had their data locked up by cyber attacks. Healthcare providers face potential costs arising from more than just the initial ransom; targeted systems have seen lost patient revenue, the need for remediation, and additional recovery costs. And even the largest health systems in the country aren’t immune to the costly ripple effects, such as delayed patient care, including surgeries, that can linger even after an initial attack. “Not only is the frequency [of ransomware attack] picking up, but I’d say the magnitude or the size is also getting bigger,” said Brian Tanquilut, a healthcare services analyst at Jefferies. CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital chains, was hit with a high-profile cyberattack in October. The system has not publicly disclosed the financial fallout, but a Dec. 1 update published on the company’s website said that the cyberattackers gained access to personal information for some patients and that an investigation is ongoing. Chad Burns, a spokesperson for CommonSpirit, declined requests for an interview.

potentially a competitor, a

“The employee of today is

client, a supplier, OR maybe

Offboarding should be streamlined, consistent, and tailored for your business.

With the workforce more digitized and distributed than ever before, HR leaders should consider the safety of their organization’s intellectual property and other sensitive information. In fact, 35% of medium and large US companies have had former employees access corporate software without authorization at a rate of 5% or more, according to a 2022 report from software provider Oomnitza. Twitter reportedly had this experience late last year. Employees who had resigned could still access the company’s internal communication systems like Slack, according to Insider.

Consider security risks

Another reason to approach offboarding with care: A former employee may pop up in the future. “The employee of today is potentially a competitor, a client, a supplier, or maybe even a regulator tomorrow,” Sarah Wittman, assistant professor of management at George Mason University, said in an interview, adding that the offboarding process is the final reflection of corporate culture and should be treated as “a graduation rather than a funeral.”

Lean on technology

And according to professors at the University of Akron, Ohio, offboarding doesn’t end the moment the employee signs off for the final time. The NFL provides exercise programs and fitness benefits to its former employees, while LinkedIn offers premium subscriptions, Makarius told Harvard Business Review. “It opens the door and shows, we still value you and we still want to have that connection for offering these programs to you,” Makarius said. Sign up for the HR Brew newsletter to stay up to date on the latest industry news and insights.