Offboarding a team member with care

Yes, it is possible! You can gracefully offboard someone from your team and maintain a good relationship. But there are some things you should be aware of. We have some tips for you.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Reading time: 2 Minutes

Communicate their departure

Before the employee's last day, you should ensure you communicate the departure appropriately. This means announcing it to the rest of the company officially via digital channels or in person (depending on the company's size). Don't delay letting the team know the employee is moving on. You don’t want rumours or gossip disrupting your workplace. 
Note: If the employee is in a customer-facing role, make sure you announce their departure to customers and introduce their replacement. This is vital to maintaining good customer relationships.

Thank them for their work

In line with the previous point is this one: thank the employee for their work. No matter if you felt like they were slacking off towards the end, it's important to close their time with you off in a positive manner. Not only you as a manager should be showing your gratitude, but also team members. Make space for a group gratitude sessions on one of your colleague’s final days.

Take care of the nitty-gritty

Update the company organisation chart. Make sure you recover company assets like laptops and phones from the departing employee and revoke access to databases and software. This includes ensuring you pay out their final loan or leftover vacation days. This is where you tie up loose ends.

Make time for an exit interview

Exit interviews can be incredibly helpful. They can help you uncover issues that made this employee leave that others may also be facing. Don't skimp in the interview. Make sure you set aside enough time and prep with questions to get the most feedback out of the employee. If you uncover issues, ensure you follow them up with your team or management so you can tackle them. Learn from the insights the employee is willing to share from you and consider them moving forward.

Nourish the relationships in the team

Set aside some time to bring the team together in a comfortable setting and share memories and departing thoughts. You can offer some snacks or all go out to lunch together. Leaving a job is not easy for everyone. Some people will get emotional and it's important that you give them space to experience these emotions. End on a positive note. If you want to dive even deeper into this topic, we can recommend this podcast.