Whether an employee leaves your company amicably on their own terms or after being fired, there are a number of steps a business should take to ensure their security and, in the end, their prosperity. The departure of an employee is far more critical a moment than when they first join your team as new employees know nothing about your operation. Conversely, departing employees have cultivated and retained a great deal of knowledge about your business, your competitors, your financials and, most importantly, your client list.
Even If It Is An Amicable Separation, You Need To Read This . . .
Even if the departing employee has performed admirably and has shown no signs of hostility during their employment, there is no way of knowing for sure how they will react when it comes time to part ways. To help keep your company safe, we have consolidated seven key steps to take when an employee departs. Try not to look at these steps as measures to take for problematic employees, but rather a standard set of rules to follow regardless of who the employee is and what kind of employment record they had with your business.
The 7 Steps To Take BEFORE Any Employee Leaves Your Business:
1. Issue A Final Paycheck - Every departing employee must be issued a final paycheck, but when they must receive it depends on your state's laws. In some states, an employee's final paycheck must be issued on their last day of work. In other states, their paycheck may still follow the usual payroll cycle. There is also the matter of accrued unused vacation time that may need to be included in the final paycheck. After payroll has cut the employee's final paycheck, have the accounting clerk remove their name from payroll.
2. Collect Company Property - Do not let departing employees walk out the door for the last time while still in possession of a company car, keys, security cards, company credit cards, computers, cell phones, company manuals or any confidential material. While this may seem obvious, it is very easy to forget these items when you have trusting feelings toward certain employees.
3. Cancel Credit And Phone Cards - In addition to collecting company credit cards and phone cards, as mentioned above, you should also cancel them. An employee could have easily copied down the card's information for personal use. And since there is no way of knowing whether they did, the best course of action is to cancel those cards.
4. Deactivate Personal Passwords - The departing of an employee is always a matter of security, and one of the chief security concerns is access -- access to the building, access to your network, etc. Be sure to disable any personal passwords or entry codes to the building, especially if you use a biometric system. Remove any lingering profiles they may have on the network, and institute a company-wide password change to anything with a generic login.
5. Address Confidentiality Policies - This coincides with the collection of company property. Since you cannot collect something intangible like knowledge, it is pertinent that you debrief departing employees. Review any non-disclosure agreements and/or non-compete clauses you may have arranged with the employee. It is crucial that you make clear their obligations to adhere to those arrangements. We also suggest that you give them a copy of the agreement for future reference.
6. Decide Who Will Handle Projects - To make certain your employee's departure does not impact the company's day-to-day productivity, create a plan that distributes their responsibilities among other employees. Also, have the departing employee personally brief these employees, but be cautious about this; it can sometimes be caustic if the person is not leaving on good terms. Make sure you start this process early to give everyone involved enough time to get coordinated on picking up the extra work.
7. Assign A Point Of Contact - Even though an employee is leaving, they may still need to communicate with your company for several weeks, especially regarding references. Give them a point of contact within the company they can solicit needed information.
Executive Summary: Whether an employee departure is on their own terms or against their will, you need to remind yourself that this is strictly business; therefore, try to keep your emotions in check even though a good friend may be leaving the company. As a reminder, collect the company's property, deactivate all passwords, and debrief the departing employee. These steps will ensure that your business goes through a seamless transition when an employee leaves without any serious hiccups, significant loss or damage incurred.
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