The Crucial Role of Offboarding in Employee Retention
In February 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed a surprising statistic: a whopping 50.5 million Americans resigned from their jobs in 2022, surpassing the previous wave of voluntary departures dubbed the Great Resignation.
For HR professionals, this concerning trend has sparked crucial questions about the offboarding process—an often underestimated phase in an employee's journey.
Offboarding, the formal separation between an employee and a company through resignation, termination, or retirement, is a pivotal aspect of maintaining your organization's reputation, enhancing current employees' experiences, and preserving networking opportunities.
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What Does Offboarding Entail?
Offboarding ensures a smooth transition when an employee leaves, covering essential tasks like transferring responsibilities, deactivating access, returning equipment, and conducting exit interviews for valuable feedback. This process prevents awkward situations like chasing down a former employee for a forgotten ID badge.
Why Offboarding Matters
Protecting Your Employer Brand. The offboarding experience influences how departing employees perceive your organization. In an era where job seekers scrutinize online reviews, creating a positive employer brand requires a consistently positive experience from onboarding to offboarding.
Reveal Employees' Pain Points. Offboarding offers a rare chance for employees to provide candid feedback on their experiences. Effectively dealing with issues, even during departure, helps organizations evolve from good to great.
Keeps the Welcome Mat Out for Returning Talent. Thoughtful offboarding increases the likelihood of rehiring former employees, known as boomerang employees. Open communication during offboarding creates a positive environment, making former employees more willing to return.
Onboarding and offboarding are the bookends of an employee's time at a company. Both processes require careful planning and execution to ensure a positive experience. Investing in your offboarding process creates a cycle of learning, enabling your organization to evolve and improve.