Offboarding gaps rarely come from carelessness; they come from not knowing every account, group and licence a person had. A list built from the systems themselves, with an owner for each step, closes most of those gaps. These four steps build that list, plan the handover with the manager and keep a record HR and IT can sign off.

Step 1 — Inventory systems and owners

Goal: Know every place a person can have access.

  1. List the systems, shared accounts, groups and licences used across the company.
  2. Name the owner who can remove access in each one.
  3. Note which systems can be checked automatically and which need a person to look.
  4. Agree what equipment and documents must be returned.

You finish with: A system inventory with an owner for each removal.

Step 2 — Build the checklist per person

Goal: Turn the inventory into a dated plan for each leaver.

  1. Trigger the checklist when a leaving date is confirmed in the HR system.
  2. Pull the person’s accounts, groups, licences and equipment into it.
  3. Agree file and account handover with the manager before any removal.
  4. Set due dates around the last working day.

You finish with: A dated checklist for each departure with owners and handovers.

Step 3 — Track and remind

Goal: Make sure every step actually happens.

  1. Record each completed removal and return with the date.
  2. Remind owners about steps that are overdue.
  3. Flag shared accounts whose passwords must change.
  4. Keep IT owners in control of each removal or its approval.

You finish with: A live record of completed and outstanding steps.

Step 4 — Sign off and audit

Goal: Close each departure with evidence.

  1. Have HR and IT review and sign off the completed checklist.
  2. Run a periodic check for accounts still active after leaving dates.
  3. Track recovered licences and time to completion.
  4. Add new systems to the inventory as they are adopted.

You finish with: A signed-off record for each departure and a current system inventory.

Common pitfalls

  • Building the checklist from memory instead of from the systems.
  • Removing access before files and accounts are handed over.
  • Forgetting shared accounts and their passwords.
  • Letting the system inventory go stale as new tools are adopted.

See it as a workflow

People & HR

Employee offboarding and access removal

When someone leaves, build one offboarding checklist from the systems they used, track every access removal and equipment return, and give IT and HR a clear record that nothing was missed.

See the workflow

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