A good offboarding (or employee exit management) strategy is often low on the priority list for busy HR leaders. And we get it! You've already got so much on your plate bringing new employees into the fold, shaping their experience with your organization, and ensuring they grow into the fully-rounded hires you knew they could be. Who has time for offboarding? The thing is, exit management is important. It's the final act - the last hoorah and your final opportunity to leave a positive impression on your (soon-to-be-ex) employee. Other pens will discuss the business impacts of good offboarding and why HR should invest in digital offboarding - but today we're going to keep it simple with a no-frills, 5-step guide to perfect employee exit-management. You may have heard of the '4 C's of Onboarding' - essentially the 4 key aspects that need to be covered in an effective new hire process. In offboarding, a similar concept is at play called the 'Offboarding ABCs'. These 5 touchpoints outline the most important components of an effective offboarding program. To build a simple yet effective offboarding strategy, it's as easy as mapping actions at each of the 5 touchpoints - so let's get started! Departing employees have knowledge and insight that HR need - don't let it go to waste! Too often people schedule exit interviews because "it's what they're supposed to do", only to let the data sit there afterward without doing any analysis or trying to learn and improve. So remember that any actions in this phase are only effective if you utilize the feedback you've gathered. 2 actions for Assessment: Departing employees are the best brand ambassadors...except when they're the worst. Investing in a positive offboarding experience will empower your leavers, creating ambassadors and preventing people from bad-mouthing your organization after they've left. Top tip - great brand ambassadors also help with future recruitment! 2 actions for Brand: Compliance is the one part of offboarding that most organizations get right, mostly because they know the dangers of messing with the legal side of exit management. Be sure not to mistake good compliance for a well-rounded offboarding strategy though - it's only one part of the puzzle. 2 actions for Compliance: If you purport to 'put your people first', then this should be the most important part of your exit management strategy. Allowing your people to leave with their heads held high is the biggest gift you can give and will foster goodwill with both leavers and your wider employee network. 2 actions for Dignity: Picture this - your most senior team member leaves - and they're a poor record keeper so when they go, their 5 years of accumulated knowledge walk out the door with them! Safeguarding that knowledge is crucial. Without it, ongoing projects might suffer, time and money are lost, and the wider team will become less productive as they're forced to pick up the slack. 2 actions for Expertise: Saying goodbye to your employees doesn't always have to be a negative thing. Take action at each of the 5 offboarding ABCs and you'll be sure to safeguard business continuity, grow your future processes, and ultimately create powerful brand ambassadors who leave your organization with their heads held high.Offboarding ABCs
Assessment
Brand
Compliance
Dignity
Expertise
The takeaway