Offboarding is a KM activity because we transfer knowledge about the workings of an organization from members of the community leaving us to those who will continue the work. Most established companies have a robust corporate general offboarding process that involves a variety of activities and meetings with your management team members, IT and HR. Knowledge sharing specific to your department is not always included in the general offboarding process.
Sharing department and team practices, helpful websites, and tips and tricks during offboarding helps vital work continue. For example, discussing the most important drive folders and how they are used can be helpful in keeping documents available to those who will continue the work. Sharing this type of information always enables a team member to find documents faster and more easily after a colleague departs.
You can easily create an offboarding program in your department using existing tools.
Start small. First, decide on the key pieces of knowledge that will help your team continue their vital work, uninterrupted. Second, set up the expectation that these practices are important during onboarding. Third, at team meetings, share small bits of information about what to store where. Finally, regularly remind team members that they need to move all project-related documents to a shared drive.
Setup 1-on-1 meetings with people who are leaving. Future retirees and others who have been with the company for a long time, or hold extensive specialized knowledge, are especially important to interview. They may have links to relevant information silos that are not obvious, or are not available, to newer employees. People with a lot to share may require several meetings to get everything organized for future use. You might also consider a recorded interview, such as an oral history. Even a simple recording can be reviewed at a later date
An organization-wide offboarding gives employees a good overview of the policies and procedures in which they must engage before their departure date. However, a local, more department or project focused offboarding/training will help departing team members feel more comfortable. It will also help them feel like their work will continue and they won’t leave their team members hanging.
-A version of this article was first published at Roche and Genentech-