Tip #23: Build a Checklist for Every Employee Who Starts or Leaves

Create an Onboarding and Offboarding Checklist

System access should be managed by a process, not a memory. Gaps in offboarding are gaps in your security, and they compound over time.

What to Do

• Build a master list of every system, application, and account a standard employee accesses: email, file storage, CRM, accounting software, remote access tools, and any industry-specific platforms.
• When someone leaves, work through the list before their last day, or within hours for unplanned departures.
• When someone joins, use the same list to ensure they’re fully set up from day one.

Common Mistake

An employee gives two weeks’ notice and leaves on good terms. In the busyness of transition, someone resets the email password but forgets about the project management tool, the shared drive folder, and the remote access account. Three months later, that person, now at a competitor or simply no longer employed, still has access.

It’s not malicious intent; it’s an incomplete process. One checklist, reviewed on every departure without exception, closes this entirely.

How to Know It’s Done

• A documented onboarding and offboarding checklist exists and is actively used for every employee change.
• A named person, such as HR, IT, or an office manager, is responsible for completing it every time.