Many businesses think offboarding problems start when an employee resigns. In reality, they often begin on day one. Shared passwords, personal devices, forgotten software subscriptions, and undocumented client relationships are usually the result of shortcuts taken during onboarding. Get onboarding right, and future offboarding becomes a simple checklist rather than a lengthy investigation.
When an employee leaves, businesses often scramble to disable accounts, recover devices, and transfer responsibilities. What should be a straightforward process can quickly turn into weeks of chasing information.
The surprising truth? Most offboarding problems aren’t caused by the employee leaving. They’re caused by decisions made when that employee first joined the company.
A shared login here. A quick software sign-up there. A personal laptop used “temporarily” until company equipment arrives. Individually, these shortcuts seem harmless. Over time, they become part of the way the business operates. That’s why effective offboarding starts long before anyone hands in their notice.
Why Some Offboarding Processes Take Weeks
In a well-managed business, offboarding can often be completed in less than two hours.
User accounts are disabled through a central identity system, access is automatically removed across connected applications, devices are wiped or collected, and responsibilities are handed over using documented processes.
Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have that foundation in place.
Instead, they find themselves:
- Searching for software accounts nobody documented
- Recovering passwords stored in personal password managers
- Chasing company laptops that were never properly recorded
- Discovering client relationships that exist entirely in one employee’s inbox
- Paying for subscriptions months after an employee has left
What determines whether offboarding is simple or stressful is rarely the resignation itself. It’s the quality of the onboarding process that came before it.
💡 The easiest offboarding process is the one that’s designed during onboarding.
Four Onboarding Mistakes That Cause Offboarding Problems
1. Allowing Employees to Sign Up for Software Independently
When employees create accounts for business tools themselves, those accounts often become tied to their personal knowledge and credentials.
Over time, businesses lose visibility of:
- Who created the account
- Who controls access
- How to recover ownership
The solution is to provision business applications centrally and connect them through a single sign-on (SSO) platform wherever possible.
This ensures every account remains under company control from day one.
2. Treating Personal Devices as a Temporary Solution
Many businesses allow employees to use personal devices while waiting for company equipment. The problem is that temporary arrangements often become permanent.
Employees begin accessing company email, downloading files, and connecting to business systems from devices the company doesn’t own or manage.
When they leave, removing business data becomes significantly more complicated.
Providing company-managed devices from the start is the safest approach. Where personal devices are unavoidable, businesses should implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) or managed application controls.
3. Using Shared Logins to Save Money
Shared credentials might seem convenient, but they create major challenges when someone leaves.
If multiple employees use the same account:
- Access cannot be removed individually
- Passwords often become lost or undocumented
- Accountability disappears
The money saved on additional licences is often outweighed by the time and risk involved during offboarding.
Individual accounts with appropriate permissions provide far greater security and control.
4. Keeping Client Relationships in Individual Inboxes
For many service-based businesses, client communication lives inside one employee’s mailbox. When that person leaves, valuable knowledge leaves with them.
Email history, project discussions, preferences, and ongoing conversations can become difficult to access, creating disruption for both staff and clients.
Using shared mailboxes, CRM systems, or centralised communication processes helps ensure client relationships remain with the business rather than the individual.
How to Improve the Situation for Existing Employees
Most businesses can’t go back and restart onboarding for current employees. What they can do is identify and fix the gaps before the next departure occurs.
1. Review Your Software Subscriptions
A surprisingly effective starting point is reviewing business card statements.
Look for recurring software subscriptions and identify:
- Who owns the account
- Who has access
- Whether business credentials are being used
- What would happen if the account owner left tomorrow
Many businesses discover forgotten subscriptions, shadow IT, and accounts with no backup access during this exercise.
2. Create a Device Register
Every business should maintain a record of:
- Company-issued devices
- Device owners
- Management status
- Access permissions
This includes understanding which personal devices are used for work purposes.
Without visibility, managing risk becomes almost impossible.
3. Centralise Client Communications
Client information should be accessible to the business, not just individual employees.
Shared mailboxes, CRM platforms, and documented communication processes help protect continuity when staff move on.
Even small improvements can make a significant difference when managing future departures.
4. What Your IT Provider Should Be Doing
Many IT providers only become involved when an employee leaves.
By that stage, much of the damage has already been done.
A proactive IT provider should play a key role during onboarding by:
- Creating user accounts correctly
- Implementing single sign-on
- Enrolling devices into management systems
- Maintaining access documentation
- Supporting onboarding policies and processes
When onboarding is managed properly, offboarding becomes predictable, secure, and far less time-consuming.
If your IT provider is only involved when someone resigns, it may be worth reviewing whether you’re getting the support your business needs.
Build Better Processes Before You Need Them
The best time to improve offboarding isn’t after someone resigns. It’s before they do.
Review your software subscriptions, document your devices, centralise client information, and establish a consistent onboarding process.
These small improvements can dramatically reduce risk, improve security, and save valuable time whenever staff changes occur.
👉 Need help improving your onboarding and offboarding processes? Our Managed IT Services can help you build secure systems that make staff transitions smoother, safer, and easier to manage.
Article used with permission from The Technology Press.
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