A simple, yet effective IT offboarding process is an important element to include when bidding farewell to members of staff. Whether they are retiring, switching to a new company, or have been performance managed out, it is vital that you ensure all IT aspects are considered. This includes elements from voicemail messages and security passes to data access and everything in between.
Two of the main reasons to follow an IT offboarding checklist is to keep your systems secure and to make sure you’re only paying for the licences that you’re using. It also keeps your processes clear.
As with the IT onboarding of new team members, the following tend to be the key areas requiring IT management:
- Hardware
- Software
- Access
If you don’t have inhouse resources to manage the task of efficiently running IT offboarding for your organisation, there’s always the option of outsourcing IT support for businesswhich we’ll cover later.
IT Offboarding Checklist
If there are existing processes in place within other departments of your organisation for when staff are leaving, such as HR and Payroll, it’s a good idea to cross check between teams to ensure that the IT offboarding tasks align with any established timelines.
Timely offboarding is of the essence as once someone departs, it can sometimes be a case of “out of sight, out of mind”. Making sure the process is simple and smooth is the ticket. We’ve rounded up the following to include on your IT Offboarding Checklist.
Hardware
Before anyone departs from your organisation, recovering any company hardware is often the first port of call. This can include items such as:
- Laptop
- Tablet
- Phones
- Home office set up equipment **
** A note on home office set up – this could include any devices, or items such as desks, chairs, additional monitors etc, not all necessarily directly IT related. In some instances, staff are reimbursed for the purchase of home office items, so be sure to know what is company owned and needs to be reclaimed.
With the collection of these items, you also need to check that any voice mail messages on phones are updated so whoever has been recruited in the role is receiving any necessary messages and contact, same goes for email accounts, which we will cover in a moment. It might be necessary to enable all calls made to the mobile to divert to an existing member of the team until a recruit arrives to replace the predecessor.
Software
Set up an auto-respond message with the former employee’s forwarding email address, if appropriate, and clarify who is now in the position and auto forward all incoming emails to the new inbox of their replacement. Emails may need to be diverted to an existing member of staff while recruitment is finalised.
Licences
Ensure you change the name to the new employee or revoke the license entirely, so you aren’t paying for something that isn’t being used. Within larger organisations, this step can easily be overlooked and end up costing you. It could be worth doing an inventory to cross check the existing software licenses within your company.
Access
In terms of overall IT security, access is the key area that needs to be promptly and thoroughly handled. With instances of dismissal where possible security issues are a concern, this needs to be acted on immediately.
The following are common access tasks to be dealt with when team members move on:
Security Passes
Deactivated at the end of the final day.
Drive and Document Access
Block access to any drives and documents on the final day, if not before.
Account Passwords
Change or revoke passwords to all internal and third party systems.
System Access
Ensure this is disabled end of final day, if not before.
Remote Access Methods
Keep in mind that people may have access remotely to central drives and possibly from their personal devices. By terminating the Virtual Private Network (VPN), you will be protecting your central servers and any other accessible data.
Credit Accounts
Any company credit cards or accounts in the former employee’s name, or with their authority to use, need to be cancelled so if details are stored with any suppliers, or within devices of the former employee, they still can’t be accessed and used.
Need Support with IT Offboarding?
Ensuring you have a watertight IT offboarding process in place within your organisation is vital for data and system security, as well as managing your costs. Beyond that, it makes for a stress-free, streamlined process and assists in the onboarding of new staff.
At Discover, we provide IT support for business, whether you’re a small five person start up or a national business. Specialising in Office 365 business support, we are here to take care of your IT management so you can focus on doing what you do best.
Contact us today to discuss how we can support your IT needs. We offer customised, cost-effective IT solutions including:
- Managed IT Services
- Office 365 Business Support
- Dependable IT support
- Cloud Services
- IT Security Management Services
- IT Hardware and Software Procurement
- Business Voice and Internet
- Business IT Review
- Network Design and Consulting.