What should an offboarding checklist include?

The handover of work and accounts, removal of access on the last day, return of equipment, final pay and paperwork, how the team and customers are told, and updating the answers the leaver owned.

How early should offboarding start?

As soon as the last day is known, so the handover has time. The access removal itself should happen on the last day.

Who should own the checklist?

The person who runs the departure, with a check after every one.

Employee offboarding checklist template

When someone leaves, the same questions come up every time: what do they hand over, who removes their access, what do we tell customers. Fill this in once and run it for every departure.

A template with blanks, not legal advice. Rules on pay, leave and data vary by state, so check yours.

The template

As soon as the date is known

Tell [person] the last day and who takes over each piece of work: [list].
Decide what to tell the team and customers, and when: [message, date, who sends it].

Handover

The leaver writes down what they own: [projects, customers, accounts, passwords in the password manager, open questions].
A named person accepts each item and confirms it in writing by [date].

Access and equipment

On the last day, remove access to [tools, email, shared drives, customer systems] and rotate any shared logins. Owner: [person].
Collect [laptop, phone, keys, cards] by [date]. Owner: [person].

Pay and paperwork

Final pay and unused time off follow [your policy]; rules differ by state, so check yours. Owner: [person].
Send [paperwork, benefits information] by [date].

After they leave

Update the answers the leaver owned: new owner, new date.
Note anything the leaver knew that was not written down, and write it now.

Who owns this checklist

Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date]. Check again by: [date].

The ten questions your team will ask

Write each answer once, with an owner and the date you last confirmed it. These ten answers are what a bot or a shared FAQ should answer from.

1.What happens to my work when I leave?
Answer: [The handover steps and who accepts each item.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
2.Who takes over my customers or projects?
Answer: [The named person for each, and how customers are told.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
3.When is my access removed?
Answer: [The last day, the tools and who does it.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
4.What equipment do I need to return, and by when?
Answer: [The list, the deadline and where to send it.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
5.What about my unused time off and final pay?
Answer: [Your rule, checked against your state's rules.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
6.Who tells the team and customers, and what do they say?
Answer: [The message, the date and the sender.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
7.Can I keep my email forwarding for a while?
Answer: [Your rule and the length of time, if any.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
8.What do I do with passwords I manage?
Answer: [Move them to the password manager and name the new owner.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
9.What if I have questions after my last day?
Answer: [A named contact and for how long.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].
10.Where do I write down things only I know?
Answer: [The place and the date it is due.]
Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

Before you publish it

Rules on final pay and unused time off differ by state, so check yours before you publish.
Run it on the next departure and add every step you had to improvise.
Test your bot or FAQ with the ten questions before you rely on it.

Want to check a bot against these questions? Use the free honesty test, or turn the answers into a shareable FAQ with the team FAQ builder.

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Common questions

The handover of work and accounts, removal of access on the last day, return of equipment, final pay and paperwork, how the team and customers are told, and updating the answers the leaver owned.
As soon as the last day is known, so the handover has time. The access removal itself should happen on the last day.
The person who runs the departure, with a check after every one.