IT Offboarding Checklist: How to Prevent Data Leaks and Ensure Compliance (+ Template)

Did you know that 59% of companies have experienced data breaches related to poorly managed offboarding? When companies don’t have proper offboarding processes in place, former employees may still have access to company systems and sensitive data. That's a big problem.

Unauthorized access can lead to data breaches, compliance violations, and even financial loss. However, a structured IT offboarding process ensures access to company systems is revoked, assets are returned, and sensitive information always stays protected. Without this process, businesses face major risks around data breaches and compliance.

In this guide, we'll walk through the key steps of our IT offboarding checklist, discussing best practices, mistakes to avoid, and how Deel IT can simplify the process with automation.

What is IT offboarding?

IT offboarding is the process of removing an employee's access to the company's IT systems, data, and devices when they leave the organization. It involves:

• Disabling all user accounts, including email, VPN, and cloud applications
• Collecting company-owned devices such as laptops, phones, and tablets
• Backing up or transferring important files
• Reallocating or deactivating software licenses and subscriptions
• Changing passwords, revoking permissions, and disabling multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Documenting all offboarding actions for compliance and auditing
• Updating internal directories, email auto-replies, and team communication
• Remotely wiping company data from personal devices, if necessary

Without an efficient offboarding process, businesses risk security breaches, IT compliance violations, and operational disruptions.

Related content: How to Create a Structured IT Onboarding Process

Why is IT offboarding important?

A well-executed IT offboarding process is absolutely crucial. If former employees still have access to company systems, things can go wrong fast. Data leaks. Lost files. Legal trouble. Not ideal.

Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS demand strict access controls. Skip IT offboarding and you could face hefty fines, or worse. Plus, if sensitive data isn't secured before someone leaves the company, you might lose valuable intellectual property.

Then there's operations. Inactive accounts, missing files, and misplaced devices all add up to delays and confusion, which wastes valuable company time.

As remote work becomes increasingly common, IT offboarding has grown more complex. Companies must track and recover employee devices from many different locations while securing access to cloud-based systems and SaaS tools. An automated IT offboarding process is the best way to maintain security and stay compliant, all while improving efficiency.

Read more: How Deel IT Saves Time & Money at Every Stage of the Device Lifecycle

IT offboarding checklist: key steps to prevent security risks

Follow our step-by-step IT offboarding checklist to prevent security risks and reduce operational inefficiencies.

Step 1: HR initiates the offboarding process

You should always begin the IT offboarding process well in advance of an employee’s departure. As soon as an employee resigns, or is informed of their contract termination, confirm their last working day and complete all the necessary exit paperwork (including final payroll and other documents such as NDAs).

Remember to notify your IT team immediately so they can start preparing to decommission and retrieve the company assets. You should also schedule an exit interview. This will help you gather feedback on the systems and retrieve any assets before the employee leaves.

If the employee has privileged access—such as an IT administrator, finance manager, or someone handling sensitive customer data—flag this information to make sure a high-level security review is conducted.

Step 2: Revoke employee access to company accounts

At the end of the employee’s last day, the quicker you remove access to company accounts, the better.

Firstly, revoke system access from the identity provider (IdP). This will prevent the user from logging in and accessing their accounts and applications. This will need to be done by an administrator within the IDP system, who can disable or deactivate the departing employee's account.

Next, revoke the user’s access to single sign-on (SSO) accounts such as Okta, Azure AD, and Google Workspace. Then, do the same for SaaS applications such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox, and so on. Keeping a database of the software and applications employees have access to will make this step easier going forward. In some cases, you will also need to terminate VPN access and review any remote access methods the employee could have access to.

And don't forget shared passwords! These need to be reset regularly, particularly after employee departures. If the departing employee owned any important files, transfer ownership. Then, deactivate any security tokens they had. And for compliance purposes, make sure to keep a detailed record of every access change you make.

More often than not, employees have many accounts that you’ll need to revoke their access to. Time-based access controls are a huge help here. Setting up automatic deactivations ensures that employees lose access exactly when they should.

Step 3: Secure company data and prevent leaks

Protecting company data is absolutely crucial. Always transfer ownership of key documents such as client records and project materials. You don't want anything slipping through the cracks during the offboarding process.

When the employee is departing, make sure you've disabled email forwarding and file-sharing permissions. If they also managed shared drives or customer communication platforms, such as Zendesk or Help Scout, update the login details as soon as possible. And don't forget that company social media accounts also fall into this category, so these login details will also need to be updated.

For employees with access to financial records, proprietary research, or customer information, conduct a final audit of their recent activities. If needed, IT security teams should check for large data transfers, unusual file downloads, or unauthorized account logins leading up to their departure.

Step 4: Retrieve IT assets and company equipment

Recover all company-owned devices. That includes laptops, mobile devices, tablets, security badges, key cards, USB drives, company credit cards, and any other equipment you have provided.

If the employee worked remotely, arrange for a secure return process with prepaid shipping labels or designated drop-off locations. Making the returns process simple for them increases the chances of your devices being returned safely, avoiding loss of equipment and data beaches. An IT asset management system can help you track devices and confirm their return.

Once recovered, erase all data to ensure security and compliance with privacy regulations. If the employee used personal devices for work, IT should guide them through removing company apps, email accounts, and VPN access.

Step 5: Update internal records and notify stakeholders

Inform relevant individuals, teams, and clients about the employee’s departure. Especially HR, finance, and department heads. Projects and accounts will need to be reassigned to other employees based on existing workload and experience.

Next, update internal systems. This includes company directories, organizational charts, and email lists. All incoming emails should be redirected to an appropriate replacement, so customers and partners aren’t left without a point of contact.

Step 6: Conduct a final IT security audit

Finally, conduct a post-offboarding audit to ensure nothing has been missed. Make sure all access has been revoked and no security loopholes exist. This is a good opportunity to take one last look through everything.

Review IT logs for any suspicious activity both before and after offboarding. Look out for unusual activity that might indicate some unauthorized access has been attempted. If you notice anything strange, act quickly.

Where necessary, update security policies based on lessons learned from the offboarding process. This will help prevent future data leaks and compliance risks.

Free IT offboarding checklist template

Don't let a disorganized offboarding put your company at risk. Use our complete IT offboarding checklist template to guide you through the process step by step. With separate versions for individual contributors and managers, our checklist ensures nothing is forgotten. Download for free today.

Best practices for avoiding offboarding-related data breaches

With the right processes in place, offboarding-related data breaches can be avoided. Here are some best practices you can follow that will make all the difference in protecting your data and improving IT compliance.

Follow a standardized IT offboarding checklist

Establishing a standardized offboarding process will help your company ensure no crucial steps are forgotten. Without this, things can easily slip through the net, putting your company at risk.

Having an IT offboarding checklist ensures all offboarding tasks—like revoking access to company accounts and retrieving all equipment—are completed.

Alongside this checklist or standardized process, HR, IT, and other relevant teams should all be aligned from the start so that everyone knows their role in the process.

Revoke all access immediately

The moment an employee leaves the company, their access should go too. Any delay here increases the risk of unauthorized use and ultimately data breaches. Deactivate all accounts, including email, cloud services, and internal tools.

Change any shared passwords the employee had access to, and ensure VPN and remote access are fully disabled. Even one single forgotten login can be a security loophole.

Discuss security processes in exit interviews

Exit interviews offer a chance to discuss security protocols. Employees should be reminded of confidentiality agreements and their obligation to protect sensitive information.

If necessary, you can also mention the legal consequences of data misuse to set clear expectations. This simple conversation can help prevent bigger issues further down the road.

Limit employee access to tools and data

Employees should only have access to the tools and data they need for their role. Limiting access from the start makes the offboarding process much easier because you’ll have less to deal with than if everyone had access to everything.

The less unnecessary access employees have, the lower the security risk when they leave.

Conduct regular security and compliance reviews

Don’t leave it all until offboarding. Conduct regular reviews of your company’s security and compliance. This will help you catch any accounts that haven't been properly deactivated and protocols that haven’t been followed.

Compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS should also be continuously monitored. If you don’t, not only are you open to data breaches, but you also risk large fines, penalties, and reputational damage.

How Deel simplifies IT offboarding

At Deel, we know that managing IT offboarding can be tricky and time-consuming. As businesses grow and teams become increasingly distributed, often across multiple countries, the offboarding process becomes even more critical.

That's where Deel IT comes in. Our platform streamlines IT offboarding by automating key processes and tracking your devices and systems. This fully integrated solution leaves you with more time to focus on scaling your business without worrying about security and compliance issues slipping through the cracks.

Here are some key features of Deel IT:

Automated access revocation

Deel IT offers automated access revocation. This means that employees’ access to all accounts, software, and cloud services is revoked immediately upon their departure. This eliminates the risk of human error through manual access revocation.

From Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to AWS and more, Deel IT makes sure that every digital door is locked as soon as an employee leaves.

Here's what you can expect from Deel IT when an employee leaves your company: The moment their departure is recorded in your HR system, their access is automatically revoked across all integrated platforms. Instantly. No delays, and no risk.

Global IT asset tracking

Managing devices across global teams can be a logistical nightmare, particularly when it comes to retrieving company equipment. But it doesn’t have to be! With Deel IT, employees are provided with pre-paid shipping labels and multiple return options, reducing delays and increasing compliance.

Offboarding devices remotely couldn’t be easier. No matter where your team is located, you can remotely track and wipe devices so that no sensitive company data is at risk when the equipment is in transit.

Our platform also saves time and money by making the offboarding process more efficient. As a result, IT teams spend less time chasing down devices and more time focusing on important business priorities.

Compliance-first approach

Security is our number one priority. We ensure that your company stays fully compliant with even the most stringent regulations. Our platform follows strict GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA policies to ensure our data protection meets the highest standards.

Rest assured that your IT offboarding processes are legally sound with our compliance-first approach.

Integration with HR platforms

Deel IT can be integrated directly with your HR systems, reducing administrative burdens for HR teams and boosting efficiency. When synced with your HR system, our platform automatically calculates and prepares final payments based on the termination date, local and national labor laws, time off used, and other additional factors like severance pay. We also notify the employee being offboarded and guide them through the process.

Ready to simplify your offboarding process? Book a demo today and discover how Deel can help you prevent data leaks and ensure compliance.