Why your business needs onboarding and offboarding checklists and how to create them
A robust onboarding process stands as the most important step toward integrating new team members into your business seamlessly.
This is because the initial days of an employee’s journey:
- shape their perspective of the business
- set the standard for future productivity
- enforce good business security mindsets
A well-executed offboarding process is equally crucial.
When employees bid farewell to your business, a structured departure is what ensures a smooth transition, safeguarding your organisation’s materials and maintaining professionalism.
So how can you optimise both processes?
Enter the onboarding and offboarding checklists.
These meticulous guides streamline the introduction of new talent and the departure of former colleagues to ensure nothing is left incomplete or forgotten.
In this article, we will explore the many vital benefits of business onboarding and offboarding checklists and explain the steps you need to implement them into your business.
Why you need an employee onboarding checklist.
Onboarding an employee should be a smooth journey for all parties involved.
An onboarding checklist is an optimised form of a to-do list that paves the way for hassle-free integration into the work environment. This way, everything essential is covered and there is no guessing, miscommunication or incorrect assumptions.
Here are the three fundamental benefits of a clear employee onboarding checklist:
- An onboarding checklist ensures productivity:
With a structured guide, new hires can swiftly understand their roles, understand company procedures, learn cybersecurity processes, and hit the ground running. This not only saves time but also ensures that your new employee enjoys early “wins”, fostering a sense of accomplishment and setting a positive tone from the outset of their employment.
- An onboarding checklist boosts company morale:
A well-planned welcome introduces new employees to the company culture, values, and team dynamics, while fostering a strong sense of belonging. This not only benefits the newcomers but instils a sense of enthusiasm and loyalty in the company’s workforce as a whole.
- An onboarding checklist ensures a good cybersecurity mindset:
By ensuring that there is oversight at every step of your employee’s onboarding, from controlled access to passwords and permissions, you ensure a secure onboarding process that safeguards sensitive information while mitigating cybersecurity risk.
Why you need an employee offboarding checklist.
As employees exit your organisation, a well-structured offboarding checklist becomes a crucial tool, not only to facilitate a smooth transition but to also safeguard the organisation’s precious reputation, intellectual property (IP) and resources.
Here are the three benefits of an actionable employee offboarding checklist:
- An offboarding checklist prevents cybersecurity breaches
First and foremost, the offboarding checklist acts as a defence against cybersecurity breaches and insider threats. By systematically deleting the leaving employees’ access, securing devices, and managing the proper disposal of sensitive data, the checklist serves as a robust safeguard against potential threats to your organisation’s sensitive information. It also ensures that your business complies with data protection regulations to reduce legal risks.
- An offboarding checklist saves unnecessary technology costs
In addition to cybersecurity considerations, an offboarding checklist helps to save your business from unnecessary, often hidden expenses. By collaborating closely with your software providers, it’s important to ensure that any licenses, software and subscriptions are promptly deactivated, preventing ongoing expenses for unused services. A robust checklist formulated before the offboarding process ensures even the most hidden costs aren’t overlooked, and no potential cyber threats are left open.
- An offboarding checklist preserves rapport and professionalism
A strict and clear offboarding checklist plays a pivotal role in preserving positive relationships with outgoing employees. Through careful exit interviews, open dialogue, and graceful farewells, it can help nurture goodwill between the departing employee and your business, and contribute to a positive organisational reputation where current and former employees speak favourably about their experiences.
How to create robust onboarding and offboarding employee checklists.
Onboarding and offboarding checklists are crucial to ensuring you have all of your materials, information and processes in check when dealing with incoming or departing employees.
Here’s a simple 5 step process for creating them.
- Assessment and documentation
Begin by assessing your current onboarding and offboarding processes. Identify the key tasks, documentation requirements, access permissions, and security protocols that will need to be maintained, and then consider those that are absent.
- Collaboration with departments
Collaborate with other internal departments, including HR, IT, security, and management to understand the specific needs and requirements of each department during onboarding and offboarding. This collaborative effort ensures that your checklist encompasses all aspects of a well-rounded process.
- Customise the checklist for roles and departments
Tailor the checklist to accommodate the unique needs of different organisational roles and departments. Not all employees need to undergo the same onboarding or offboarding journey, so ensure that there is room for specific actions according to the nuances of each position.
- Incorporate legal and compliance elements
Integrate important legal and compliance aspects into your checklist with the help of a professional to ensure you adhere to employment laws and industry regulations. This includes proper documentation of onboarding and offboarding materials, acknowledgment of employment policies, and compliance with data protection laws.
- Adopt a continuous improvement and feedback loop
Establish a system for continuous improvement by seeking feedback from both new hires and departing employees. Use their insights to regularly review and update the checklists based on the evolving organisational needs, feedback, or any changes in regulations to ensure that all employee onboarding and offboarding checklists remain effective and relevant over time.
Does this sound like a lot of work and coordination that you can’t afford?
Let Centrix create staff onboarding and offboarding checklists for you.
Our team at Centrix is always ready – we help small businesses up to large corporate organisations succeed by managing, supporting and protecting critical IT infrastructure.
Backed by our extensive knowledge and expertise, Centrix is here to support your organisation by creating comprehensive onboarding and offboarding materials, as well as IT Connectivity and Collaboration Service Packages, Cloud IT, Cybersecurity Protection, Managed IT Services and other IT Solutions.
So, are you ready to perfect your onboarding and offboarding checklists?
To learn more about our Managed IT services, book an IT Health Check or contact us today.