An employee offboarding checklist covers four owners: HR handles paperwork and final pay, IT removes access and recovers devices, the manager reassigns work, and the team captures what the person knows. Start on the day notice is given. The knowledge steps take longest, so they cannot wait for the last week.
Most offboarding checklists are strong on access and paperwork and weak on knowledge. This one gives each owner a list.
Day notice is given
- Resignation or exit confirmed in writing
- Last working day agreed
- Manager, HR and IT informed
- Successor or interim owner named
- Knowledge transfer plan started
- Team told, with the person's agreement on how and when
HR checklist
- Resignation accepted and acknowledged
- Notice period, leave balance and any buy-out confirmed
- Final settlement calculated (salary, leave encashment, bonuses, deductions, as your local rules require)
- Statutory forms and benefits handled for your country (for example, provident fund and gratuity in India, or COBRA notices in the US)
- Experience or relieving letter prepared
- Confidentiality and any post-employment obligations reminded
- Exit interview scheduled (see the exit interview template)
- Personnel file updated and closed
- Alumni or rehire status recorded
IT and security checklist
- List of systems and accounts the person uses
- Shared files and mailboxes moved to team ownership before the last day
- Email forwarding or auto-reply decided
- Ownership of documents, repositories and dashboards transferred
- Shared credentials rotated
- Access removed on the last day, including single sign-on, VPN, admin rights and third-party tools
- Devices returned and wiped according to policy
- Removal confirmed in writing
Manager checklist
- All open work listed with a new owner
- Commitments to customers, partners or other teams reassigned, and the other side told
- Recurring tasks for the next 12 months listed
- Key contacts introduced to the successor
- Handover document written and reviewed
- Successor has done each high-risk task once with the leaver watching
- Role description updated before hiring again
Knowledge checklist (the part most teams skip)
- Decisions only this person can explain are written down, with reasons
- Workarounds and undocumented steps recorded
- Personal spreadsheets, scripts and notes moved to shared locations
- Topics where this person is the only expert identified
- Knowledge interview held (use our knowledge transfer interview questions)
- Plan for questions after the last day, if the person agrees
Last day
- Handover signed off
- Equipment returned
- Access removed
- Farewell, and thanks
30 days after
- Ask the successor what was missing
- Add those gaps to this checklist for next time
- Feed exit interview themes into the quarterly review
Copyable offboarding tracker
| Step | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Successor named | Manager | Day 1 | |
| Knowledge transfer plan agreed | Manager | Day 3 | |
| Open work reassigned | Manager | Week 2 | |
| Knowledge interview(s) | Manager / successor | Week 1 to 3 | |
| Handover document reviewed | Successor | Week 3 | |
| Final settlement | HR | Last day | |
| Exit interview | HR | Final week | |
| Access removed | IT | Last day | |
| Devices returned | IT | Last day | |
| 30-day check | Manager | +30 days |
Where Reattend fits
Reattend supports the knowledge part of offboarding. Its desktop app has been remembering each person's decisions, commitments and meeting notes, so the handover starts from a record instead of a blank page. The exit interview is answered in the app and becomes a handoff document, and on the People page, "If they left tomorrow" shows the topics only the leaver holds, their open commitments, and who is best placed to take over.
Frequently asked questions
What is employee offboarding?
Employee offboarding is the set of steps taken when someone leaves: paperwork and final pay, returning equipment, removing access, handing over work and knowledge, and the exit interview.
What should be on an offboarding checklist?
HR items (resignation letter, final settlement, documents), IT items (access removal, devices, data), manager items (handover, reassigning work, telling stakeholders), and knowledge items (open commitments, decisions, contacts, recurring tasks).
Who owns offboarding?
HR owns the process and the checklist. IT owns access and devices. The manager owns the handover of work and knowledge. Each needs a named person.
When should offboarding start?
The day notice is given or the exit is agreed. Access removal is timed for the last day, but the handover needs the whole notice period.