An employee leaves your company. You collect their laptop, take back their keys, say goodbye, and move on.
But did anyone disable their email account?
What about their access to cloud storage, shared documents, accounting software, customer databases, Microsoft 365, or other business systems?
When an employee leaves a company, their physical access may end immediately, but their digital access can remain active long after their last day if nobody takes the necessary steps to remove it.
For businesses, this creates an unnecessary cybersecurity risk. A strong employee offboarding process should include IT from the beginning. TechNuts can help businesses manage user accounts, permissions, devices, and security so former employees aren’t unintentionally left with access to company systems.
Why Former Employee Access Is a Cybersecurity Risk
Not every former employee is going to intentionally access company information after leaving. The problem is that an active account remains another potential way into your network or cloud services.
Imagine an employee leaves, but their Microsoft 365 account remains active. Months later, the password associated with that account is compromised in a phishing attack or data breach.
Your former employee may have nothing to do with the incident, but an account that should have been disabled is now potentially creating a security vulnerability.
That’s why removing access isn’t about assuming someone has bad intentions. It’s about eliminating access that is no longer necessary.
What Accounts Should Be Disabled When an Employee Leaves?
Modern businesses use a lot of technology, which can make offboarding more complicated than simply deleting an email address.
Depending on the employee’s role, they may have access to:
- Company email
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
- Cloud file storage
- Shared drives and folders
- Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
- Accounting or billing software
- Project management platforms
- Internal databases
- Social media accounts
- Website administration
- Remote access tools
- VPN accounts
- Communication platforms
- Industry-specific software
- Company-owned computers and mobile devices
Employees may also have passwords saved on company devices or access to shared accounts that multiple people use.
A good offboarding process considers the employee’s entire digital footprint.
Don’t Just Delete the Email Account
Immediately deleting an employee’s email account isn’t always the best approach.
The business may still need access to important conversations, attachments, customer information, or project history. Incoming emails may also need to be redirected to another employee so customers and vendors aren’t left wondering why nobody is responding.
Instead, your IT provider can help determine how to appropriately disable user access while preserving business information according to the company’s needs and applicable requirements.
The goal is to remove the former employee’s ability to sign in without accidentally losing information the company still needs.
Shared Passwords Make Offboarding Harder
Does your office have a password everyone knows?
Maybe there’s one login for a vendor portal, social media account, software platform, or another business service.
Shared passwords can create a major problem when someone leaves.
If a former employee knows the password, disabling their personal account won’t necessarily remove their access to that shared service.
Passwords for shared accounts should be changed when appropriate after an employee leaves. Better yet, businesses should reduce unnecessary password sharing by using individual accounts and permissions whenever the platform allows it.
This makes it easier to identify who has access and remove that access without disrupting everyone else.
Don’t Forget Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, adds another layer of protection beyond a username and password.
But businesses also need to consider what happens to MFA when an employee leaves.
A former employee’s phone number, authentication application, security key, or other authentication method shouldn’t remain connected to company accounts.
As part of offboarding, IT should review authentication methods and remove anything associated with the departing employee.
What Happens to the Employee’s Computer?
Getting the laptop back is only the beginning.
Before giving that device to another employee, businesses should make sure company information is handled appropriately and the computer is properly prepared for its next user.
Simply creating a new desktop login doesn’t necessarily address everything stored on the machine.
An IT professional at TehNuts can help determine the appropriate process for preserving necessary business data, removing the previous user’s access, applying updates, reviewing security settings, and preparing the computer for reassignment.
Remote Employees Make IT Offboarding Even More Important
Remote and hybrid work have made employee offboarding more complicated.
An employee might have a company laptop at home while accessing business systems through cloud applications, VPNs, remote desktop tools, email, or collaboration platforms.
That means there may not be a physical office door to lock when someone leaves.
Businesses need a way to quickly disable remote access and account credentials regardless of where the employee is located.
Having a documented IT offboarding process becomes particularly important when employees work from different locations.
Offboarding Should Happen Immediately
Timing matters.
Ideally, IT should know an employee’s final date and, when appropriate, the time their access should end. That allows accounts and permissions to be addressed as part of the departure process rather than days or weeks later.
Depending on the circumstances, certain access may need to be removed immediately.
HR, management, and IT should have a clear process for communicating employee departures so technology access doesn’t fall through the cracks.
What About Employees Who Change Roles?
Offboarding isn’t the only time businesses should review access.
Imagine someone moves from accounting into sales. Do they still need access to all the accounting systems they previously used?
Probably not.
This is sometimes called permission creep. As employees change positions or take on temporary responsibilities, they accumulate access to additional systems. Old permissions aren’t always removed when they’re no longer necessary.
Over time, an employee may have significantly more access than their current job requires.
Regular access reviews can help businesses make sure employees have the tools they need without maintaining unnecessary permissions.
Create an Employee Offboarding Checklist
One of the easiest ways to prevent forgotten accounts is to create a standard offboarding process.
Your checklist might include:
- Notify IT about the employee’s departure.
- Identify the employee’s accounts and permissions.
- Disable access at the appropriate time.
- Preserve necessary company emails and files.
- Redirect important communications when needed.
- Remove remote access and VPN permissions.
- Review MFA methods.
- Change appropriate shared passwords.
- Recover company-owned devices.
- Prepare devices for reassignment.
- Review access to third-party applications.
- Confirm that unnecessary access has been removed.
The exact process will vary depending on the business and the systems it uses, but having a documented checklist helps ensure important steps aren’t forgotten.
Employee Offboarding Is Part of Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity isn’t only about antivirus software, firewalls, and stopping hackers.
It’s also about controlling who has access to your business information.
Every active account should have a reason to exist. When an employee leaves or no longer needs access to a particular system, that access should be reviewed.
A consistent onboarding and offboarding process can also make IT management easier as your company grows. New employees receive the access they need, current employees maintain appropriate permissions, and departing employees have access removed in an organized way.
Let TechNuts Help Manage Your Business IT
If you’re not sure how many former employees still have active accounts, that’s a good reason to take a closer look.
TechNuts can help businesses manage employee accounts, devices, permissions, cloud services, cybersecurity, and ongoing IT needs. Instead of waiting for an old account to become a problem, businesses can take a proactive approach to controlling access.
Whether you’re onboarding a new employee, offboarding someone who is leaving, or simply trying to get a better handle on who has access to what, TechNuts can help keep your business technology organized and secure.
Contact TechNuts today to learn more about managed IT services and cybersecurity solutions for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions About Employee IT Offboarding
What is IT offboarding?
IT offboarding is the process of removing or adjusting an employee’s access to company technology when they leave an organization. It can include disabling accounts, removing permissions, recovering devices, preserving company data, and updating authentication methods.
When should an employee’s computer access be disabled?
The appropriate timing depends on the circumstances of the employee’s departure and company policies. IT and management should coordinate so access can be removed at the appropriate time rather than leaving accounts active unnecessarily.
Should you delete a former employee’s email account?
Not necessarily. Businesses may need to preserve emails, attachments, contacts, or other information. An IT professional can help disable the former employee’s access while determining how necessary company information should be retained or transferred.
Should passwords be changed when an employee leaves?
Passwords for shared accounts the employee knew may need to be changed. Whenever possible, businesses should use individual user accounts rather than sharing credentials between employees.
How can businesses find old employee accounts?
An IT access review can help identify active users across business systems and determine whether those accounts are still necessary. Regular account reviews are an important part of maintaining good cybersecurity practices.
Can TechNuts help with employee onboarding and offboarding?
Yes. TechNuts can help businesses manage user accounts, permissions, devices, cloud services, and other IT needs associated with employees joining, changing roles, or leaving the organization.
