5 Steps to make off-boarding a positive experience as a manager

Happy 2025! And this year starts with something new.

I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to present at the Nushu Women Network Online Event together with Annalena Feldmüller on the topic of employee off-boarding.

Discussions about talent attraction often focus on how to attract and retain talent. But it's often forgotten that the off-boarding experience is just as important as the on-boarding process. Especially in the last two weeks, many companies have left a scorch mark by mismanaging or disregarding a departing employee. But these employees are so important because they will talk about this employer to friends and family or future colleagues. In this way, they influence employer branding. In the long term, departing employees who go out to develop new skills and see new environments are the best talent pipeline you could have. Once they've spent their few years elsewhere, they're a great asset when they come back.

There are so many ways to look at this topic that could fill hours of discussion. In this article, I want to focus on the behaviour of managers. I'll list some of the things they can do to ensure a good off-boarding experience.

Manager behaviour: 5 steps to a good off-boarding experience

As a manager, you are on the front line and in direct contact with the departing employee. Whatever the company processes are, you will see and experience the impact on the employee. But you can also take control of the process and manage what is within your control:

1. Professionalism and Empathy

   Respect the individual development plans of the employee. Nowadays it's common to leave a company after 5-8 years, or even after 3 years. It's not a personal rejection for you or the company. On the contrary, it's a good sign if the employee knows what he's looking for and takes action if he doesn't find it in the company he's currently working for. The last thing you want to do is give them the cold shoulder. You burn bridges with that kind of behaviour.

   
   

2. Recognition

   Acknowledge the employee's achievements appropriately. They may have shed tears and blood in the past. This is not redundant because of their decision to leave. Take the time to give them proper recognition and a respectful farewell from the team. This will have an impact not only on the employee but on the team as a whole.

   
   

3. Focus on team morale.

   When people leave the team there is always some sort of disruption. Address individual anxieties and check with those who remain to see what their feelings and moods are. Focus on the future and what opportunities this situation might bring for other team members. Above all, try to understand the team dynamics.

   
   

4. Opportunity for feedback

   Use the situation as a feedback opportunity. Schedule an exit interview with the departing employee, if HR does not do this. Try to understand what went well and where improvements could be made. Now is the time to get one of the purest forms of feedback. Also check with the team to see if they have any feedback and if this situation could be used as a moment to change some working practices or other dynamics.

   
   

5. Knowledge Transfer.

   This part is too often forgotten. Whether you already have someone in place to take over from the departing employee, or whether the tasks are spread around the team, make sure there is a proper transfer of knowledge. Make a list of all the tasks, projects or issues the person has been involved in. Allow enough time for them to be explained, or even use new technology to record them explaining. Most importantly, go through the topics or processes and see if you've understood everything or if it's comprehensive. Too often things pop up after the person has left.

   
   

Of course, this list could go on and on, but from my point of view it covers some of the most important points a manager can look at. If you follow these steps, there won't be any weird estrangement, and you never know when your paths will cross again. But you can be more certain that it will be in a positive way.