5 Offboarding Support Mistakes That Damage Your Reputation

Did you know offboarding is just as important as onboarding? Offboarding is a process that takes place when an employee leaves a company. 

Unfortunately, many organizations underestimate the importance of the offboarding phase. This leads to companies making easily avoidable mistakes that harm team morale and company reputation. 

 

The Impact of a Poor Offboarding Experience

A poor offboarding experience can lead to negative word-of-mouth that affects future recruitment efforts. Internally, it creates additional stress, confusion, and mistrust, which seriously reduces team productivity and morale. 

Over time, it slowly impacts the organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent. 

To prevent this from happening to you, we’ll be discussing five common offboarding support mistakes that companies should avoid.

Mistake #1: Offering No Post-Exit Support

Leaving a job can be a challenging time, and without support, individuals feel lost and undervalued. 

Candidates are increasingly prioritizing valuable benefits and severance packages in their career choices. They don’t want to be left hanging, especially if they could be laid off or terminated in the future. They are looking for severance packages that offer severance pay and sponsored career support for finding a new job. 

Many companies across Canada have failed to see this shift, and as a result, avoid offering a valuable severance package to reduce costs. But these kinds of severance packages generate positive word-of-mouth, setting your company apart from its competitors. It also helps maintain positive team morale. 

Outsource Your Post-Exit Support with Pathways

We’ve helped many companies transition their former employees out of the workplace and into new opportunities with end-to-end career coaching and professional development courses. Our personalized services allow you to provide comprehensive career support without needing to use company time and resources.

What do we hear the most from the laid-off employees we work with? They’re grateful, less stressed, and feel supported even after being laid off. They have no hard feelings, and can move on with appreciation for their previous employer. 

Book a free consultation with Pathways to learn if our services are right for you!

Mistake #2: Treating Offboarding as a Transaction

Another common mistake is treating offboarding as just a transactional process. When companies view this phase as a one-time event rather than a relationship, it can kill any goodwill the employee still has for the company.

Employers can avoid making this mistake by:

• Personalizing the process. Take the time to understand how you can make their offboarding experience as comfortable as possible. 
• Using exit interviews to gather valuable insights. This conversation can help employees feel appreciated and allow the company to learn and improve.
• Always thanking departing employees for their hard work and dedication. A simple gesture can make a lasting impression.

Mistake #3: Overlooking Knowledge Transfer

Departing employees often have valuable information that can benefit the team. Not utilizing this can cause confusion, disrupt workflows, and make the transition more difficult than it needs to be. 

To avoid this, companies should:

• Involve team members in the transition. Collaborating on projects or transitioning responsibilities helps preserve continuity.
• Encourage outgoing employees to create documentation about their roles, tasks, and insights.
• Organize meetings where departing employees can share their expertise with remaining staff. This can include training sessions or Q&As. 

Mistake #4: Failing to Communicate Effectively

Effective communication is crucial during the offboarding process. Unfortunately, many companies overlook this aspect, leading to confusion and frustration among employees. 

If your team members are consistently asking for more information or clarification, you’re doing something wrong!

To avoid this mistake, companies should:

• Provide clear instructions on what employees can expect during their exit process. Include details on return of company property, final paychecks, and benefits information.
• Assign a point of contact for any questions the departing employee may have. This ensures that they have someone to rely on for information.
• Promote an open line of communication where departing employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns or thoughts.

Mistake #5: Ignoring Employee Experience During Exit

Many companies fail to consider the experience of the employee during their exit. 

We call this employer tunnel vision, and it happens when the employer fails to think from the employee perspective and only considers the company’s needs. 

This oversight affects how the employees feel about the organization long after they have left. It makes them feel undervalued, underappreciated, and unimportant. Moreover, it’s unlikely they’ll keep these feelings to themselves, leading the way to negative word-of-mouth.

Management can avoid making this mistake by:

1. Asking departing employees for their thoughts on the offboarding process. This helps them feel like their input is important, and gives you valuable insights into what can be improved.
2. Ensuring that the exit process is respectful and welcoming. Provide a comfortable environment for discussions and farewells.
3. Organizing small farewell gatherings or ceremonies to acknowledge the employee’s impact on the company. Make the closing chapter something to celebrate, not gloss over.