Last week, in the first article of this two-part series, I wrote about the concept of employee off-boarding, the opposite of employee onboarding. This week’s article will cover who’s responsible for it and if it makes sense to automate it.
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR EMPLOYEE OFF-BOARDING?
Similar to onboarding, the job of off-boarding employees sits with multiple folks because it can and does include multiple aspects of the employment relationship. It’s a team effort. Who is involved and what are their roles?
- Human Resources (HR): The HR team plays a central role in managing the off-boarding process, as they’re responsible for coordinating various aspects of the process, including paperwork, benefits, exit interviews, compliance, and ensuring that the process aligns with company policies and legal requirements.
- Manager or Supervisor: The departing employee’s immediate manager or supervisor can help facilitate knowledge transfer, reassign responsibilities, and conduct the exit interview.
- IT Team: IT will revoke the departing employee’s access to company data, systems, and accounts, as well as handle the return of company devices and access cards.
- Legal and Compliance: This team ensures all legal obligations are met, including the handling of contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and compliance with labor laws.
- Payroll and Finance: They’ll process final paychecks, the return of any outstanding reimbursements, and any other financial matters related to the employee’s departure.
- Remaining Team Members: In some cases, other team members might need to be involved in the knowledge transfer process or be informed of changes in responsibilities due to the departing employee’s exit.
Others may be involved, depending on company structure, the employee’s seniority and role, etc. Just know this: everyone should be designing and executing this process through the lens of your core values.
SHOULD YOU AUTOMATE EMPLOYEE OFF-BOARDING?
It’s fair to ask if automating the employee off-boarding process makes sense. As with customer off-boarding, I think it depends. I believe the experience is very much human, and there should be human interaction to learn, understand, and perhaps even save the employee, if possible. That personal touch, especially when employees have concerns, unique circumstances, or are being laid off, goes far to leave a positive last (and lasting) impression.
Some of the things that can be automated included: paperwork, access revocation, exit surveys and feedback, resource tracking, notifications, and data backup/transfer.
Again, the human touch is an important one at this point in the experience. Consider the following when automating:
- Off-boarding is a sensitive process that involves human emotions and relationships. While automation can streamline tasks, the personal touch for things like exit interviews and communication go a long way toward leaving a positive last impression.
- Every situation is unique. Automation needs to be flexible enough to accommodate different scenarios, legal requirements, and employee needs.
- Automating the handling of employee data must adhere to strict data privacy regulations and ensure that sensitive information is handled securely.
- Automation must comply with relevant labor laws, regulations, and company policies.
- Human and personalized oversight is still important to ensure that the automation is functioning correctly and that any exceptions or unusual situations are addressed appropriately.
Automation can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the off-boarding process, but it needs to be done via a thoughtful and balanced approach that complements the human aspects of off-boarding, such as empathy, feedback collection, and personalized interactions.
We hear a lot about onboarding, but what about off-boarding? Turns out it is equally important. Unfortunately, 63 percent of business owners do not have an off-boarding strategy in place. ~ Axcet HR Solutions
Image courtesy of Pixabay.
