Employee Offboarding: Best Practices for Every Type of Leaver

This article was updated in December 2025 to reflect the latest information and best practices.

TL;DR

Employee offboarding works best when it’s structured, respectful, and tailored to the reason an employee is leaving. Start with clear timelines, a standardized checklist, and secure knowledge transfer for every departure. Then adjust your approach based on whether the employee is retiring, resigning, being restructured, finishing a project, or leaving due to misconduct.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Employee Offboarding?
2. Core Offboarding Best Practices for All Employees
3. Reasons Why Employees Leave A Company
4. Offboarding Best Practices for Each Type of Offboardee
5. How Offboarding Software Supports a Consistent, Compliant Process
6. FAQ About Employee Offboarding Best Practices
7. Next Steps: Creating Offboarding Best Practices

Every employee departure tells a different story. Some leave to retire after years of contribution, others move on to new opportunities, and some exits are a little more complicated. 

But regardless of the reason, every offboarding scenario has one thing in common: every employee deserves to leave feeling respected and supported. HR plays a central role in making that happen, while also protecting the organization, preserving knowledge, and maintaining compliance.

And the best way to do that depends heavily on the type of leaver. This guide outlines the best practices for employee offboarding and provides step-by-step checklists you can use to deliver a smooth, fair, and consistent offboarding experience for every departing employee.

What Is Employee Offboarding?

Employee offboarding is the structured process of guiding an employee out of your organization. It includes clear communication, accurate documentation, secure access removal, and coordinated knowledge transfer across teams.

A consistent offboarding process protects your organization from compliance risks and knowledge gaps, while also helping each employee leave with dignity and a positive final experience.

Core Offboarding Best Practices for All Employees

Before we get into tailored approaches for each type of leaver, there are a few core offboarding best practices that apply to every departure. Keeping these in mind helps you create a smooth offboarding process, and avoid common mistakes, no matter why an employee is leaving.

• Start early: Establish a clear offboarding timeline as soon as notice is given.
  
  
• Use a standardized checklist: This prevents overlooked tasks and ensures compliance.
  
  
• Communicate clearly: Align managers, IT, payroll, and HR to avoid gaps or delays.
  
  
• Protect knowledge: Schedule formal handovers and document critical processes.
  
  
• Secure systems and property: Remove access promptly and recover devices.
  
  
• Conduct an exit interview: Capture insights that can strengthen culture and processes.
  
  
• Treat every leaver respectfully: A professional offboarding experience supports your reputation.
  
  
• Use offboarding software: Automation improves task tracking and consistency across all departure types.

Reasons Why Employees Leave A Company

Employees leave organizations for many different reasons, and each one shapes how their offboarding should be managed. The most common scenarios include:

• Retirement – finishing their career after years of service.
• Restructure or redundancy – the role is no longer required.
• Resignation – choosing to move on to a new opportunity.
• Non-renewal or release – the employment contract isn’t extended.
• Freelancers or project-based departures – completing a temporary assignment.
• Misconduct or rule-breaking – leaving due to policy or behavioral violations.

Offboarding Best Practices for Each Type of Offboardee

Now that you’ve seen the most common reasons employees leave, let’s look at how to offboard each type of leaver effectively. The sections below outline what to do, what not to do, and the key steps HR should follow to ensure every departure is handled with clarity and care.

Retirement

An employee retiring can be a meaningful moment for both HR and the retiree. It’s a chance to celebrate a long career, but it also means losing valuable knowledge and long-standing relationships.

A strong offboarding process helps you protect that knowledge, create space for a thoughtful goodbye, and ensure the retiree leaves feeling appreciated and confident about their next chapter.

What TO Do: 

• Support a structured knowledge-transfer process
• Give the retiree space to lead, but provide clear guidelines and checklists
• Make time for meaningful recognition and celebration

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t minimize the retiree’s contribution or years of service
• Don’t leave planning or communication until the last minute
• Don’t overlook the long-term impact their final experience will have on how they remember your organization

What this looks like in practice:

• 5 weeks out: Plan the offboarding timeline with the retiree
• 4 weeks out: Begin knowledge transfer
• 2 weeks out: Host a retirement celebration
• 1 week out: Conduct an exit interview
• Last day: Organize a lunch with a senior leader

Restructure

Being restructured out of an organization is rarely a positive experience for employees. They may feel uncertain about their abilities, anxious about their financial future, and confused, especially if their performance has been strong.

HR can’t control how someone reacts to the news, but it can control how the message is delivered and what support is provided afterward. While employees affected by restructuring may not leave happy, a thoughtful and respectful offboarding process can help them depart with dignity and strong prospects for their next step.

What TO Do: 

• Deliver the news privately and with empathy
• Offer practical support such as references or career-transition help
• Let the employee choose how their departure is communicated

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t make mass announcements
• Don’t minimize the emotional impact of redundancy

What this looks like in practice:

• 4 weeks out: Discuss communication preferences
• 3 weeks out: Prepare a reference letter
• 2 weeks out: Invite them to run a knowledge-sharing session
• 1 week out: Arrange a team goodbye
• Last day: Provide a personalised leaving gift

Resignation

Resignation can be an exciting step for many employees, marking the start of a new opportunity or career growth. HR can support this positive momentum by offering a structured offboarding process with space for recognition and celebration.

And even when the departure isn’t on ideal terms, a good offboarding experience gives employees a constructive way to share feedback and helps them leave on a more positive, professional note.

What TO Do: 

• Stay positive and supportive
• Reinforce the employee’s contributions
• Organize structured knowledge transfer

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t take the resignation personally
• Don’t reduce engagement or communication

What this looks like in practice:

• 4 weeks out: Request a formal resignation letter
• 3 weeks out: Schedule a handover session
• 2 weeks out: Invite them to join your alumni network
• 1 week out: Host a farewell event
• Last day: Share an internal thank-you message

Non-renewal or Release

Sometimes an employee isn’t the right fit, underperforms, or the organization simply made a hiring decision that didn’t work out. In these cases, HR may decide not to renew the contract and release the employee from the organization.

As with restructuring, empathy is essential. A respectful, well-structured offboarding process helps the employee move on with dignity and gives HR valuable insight to reduce the chances of similar situations in the future.

What TO Do: 

• Be transparent about the reasons for non-renewal
• Provide tools that support the employee’s transition
• Treat feedback seriously, even in difficult cases

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t avoid clear communication
• Don’t dismiss the value of the exit interview

What this looks like in practice:

• 3 weeks out: Share an “open-to-work” template
• 2 weeks out: Collect a structured feedback survey
• 1 week out: Review non-compete and policy details
• Last day: Offer a farewell moment if they choose it
• After departure: Hold a stakeholder debrief meeting

Freelancers and Project-Based Workers

Many organizations bring in freelancers for short-term projects, but it’s easy to overlook the need for a proper offboarding process when the work wraps up. In reality, these projects often last months, and freelancers become closely connected to teams and workflows.

A structured offboarding process helps acknowledge their contribution, supports a smooth handover, and increases the chances they’ll leave positive reviews or return for future projects.

What TO Do: 

• Gather context from managers early
• Acknowledge the value of their contribution
• Create space for knowledge transfer

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t assume freelancers require no offboarding
• Don’t skip asking for a company review, freelancers often give strong insights

What this looks like in practice:

• 3 weeks out: Run a project wrap-up meeting
• 2 weeks out: Share a public LinkedIn thank-you
• 1 week out: Request a review on job platforms
• Last day: Set up a final coffee with their manager.
• After departure: Check in to maintain the relationship

Misconduct or Rule-Breaking

Dismissing an employee for misconduct is one of the most challenging offboarding scenarios. In these cases, the process must focus on legal and administrative requirements to protect the organization.

HR should ensure all policies are followed, company property is recovered, and the employee’s rights and privacy are respected throughout the process.

What TO Do: 

• Follow internal processes accurately
• Document decisions and communication
• Recover equipment and secure access immediately

What NOT To Do: 

• Don’t react emotionally
• Don’t skip legal consultation where required

What this looks like in practice:

• Before departure: Provide a final pay breakdown
• Before departure: Retrieve all company property
• Before departure: Sign termination documentation
• After departure: Conduct a process review
• After departure: Meet with the employee’s manager and stakeholders

How Offboarding Software Supports a Consistent, Compliant Process

Offboarding software creates a structured workflow that helps HR manage every departure consistently. It centralizes tasks, communications, and deadlines so nothing is missed, while removing the need for scattered spreadsheets or manual reminders.

It also makes it easy to tailor offboarding to different types of leavers. Automated task lists, notifications, and templates adjust based on whether the employee is retiring, resigning, being restructured, or finishing a project.

With everything documented in one place, HR gains visibility into progress and compliance. This supports a reliable, repeatable offboarding process and a more positive final experience for every employee.

FAQ About Employee Offboarding Best Practices

What is employee offboarding?
Employee offboarding is the structured process of guiding an employee out of an organization. It includes communication, documentation, knowledge transfer, access removal, and final interviews to ensure a smooth and compliant departure.

Why is employee offboarding important?
Effective offboarding protects the organization from compliance risks, security issues, and knowledge loss. It also supports a positive final experience for the employee, which can strengthen employer branding and alumni relationships.

What are the main reasons employees leave a company?
Common reasons include retirement, redundancy, resignation, contract non-renewal, completion of freelance or project-based roles, and dismissal for misconduct.

What are the best practices for offboarding employees?
Key offboarding best practices include starting early, using a standardized checklist, coordinating knowledge transfer, removing access promptly, conducting an exit interview, and treating every leaver with respect.

How can HR ensure consistency in the offboarding process?
Use standard checklists, automated workflows, and clear assignments so managers, IT, payroll, and HR stay aligned on each departure.

Next Steps: Creating Offboarding Best Practices

Employee offboarding works best when it is structured, respectful, and tailored to the reason for departure. Consistency protects the organization, while personalisation supports the employee. HR managers benefit from using checklists and automation to ensure no step is missed.

To put these best practices into action, use our Offboarding Checklist to guide every departure with clarity and confidence.