Guidelines for Employee Offboarding

Manager Responsibilities:

• Request the employee submit a resignation letter specifying the last working day to the manager and UHR representative.
• Ensure HR enters the resignation details in Workday to initiate separation tasks.
• Advise the employee to contact the Benefits Office regarding benefits continuation, retirement, or payouts.
• Instruct the employee to review the University Records Retention Schedule and Policy to evaluate analog and digital records.
• Determine if the faculty member will continue serving on Program of Study Committees.
• Designate another advisor for oversight and emergencies, and appoint the departing faculty member as an affiliate, if applicable.
• Department chairs should complete Faculty Offboarding Letter and a copy of this letter should be saved in the Academic Personnel Folder.

Employee Responsibilities:

• Submit a resignation letter specifying the last working day to the manager and UHR representative. Academic year (nine-month) faculty should notify their department chair no later than April 15. Resignations should typically align with the end of the academic year (May 15).
• The separation date is the last day worked or the effective date of the resignation. Refer to the ISU Resignation Policy for more details.
• Evaluate analog (office/cubicle) and digital (computer, shared drives, cloud storage, etc.) records:
  • Transfer active records to a shared location or to the manager (e.g. CyBox, Canvas, computer files).
  • Destroy or transfer inactive records according to University policies.
• Compile and submit a list of non-standard software and accounts to the manager and IT.
• If applicable, notify relevant research offices:
  • Institute for Design Research and Outreach
  • Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer
  • Office of Sponsored Programs Administration
  • Office of Research Ethics
• Verify expenditures and close out projects with Finance and OSPA, for sponsored projects.
• Address discretionary funds and finalize reporting.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Develop a communication plan to inform key stakeholders of the employee’s departure, including graduate students, faculty and staff, clients or other external stakeholders, the ISU community as relevant, and include:
  • Employee’s last working day.
  • Plans for reassigning tasks.
  • New workplace details, if permissible.
• Contact the Building Manager to schedule the deactivation of card access.
• Collaborate with the employee to:
  • Assess ongoing projects and document relevant details.
  • Reassign tasks and responsibilities.
  • Transition digital assets (e.g., CyBox folders) to the successor or to the manager.
  • Plan for training sessions, if time allows.
• Verify all records have been transferred, shared, or destroyed.

Employee Responsibilities:

• Work with the manager to:
  • Complete assigned projects.
  • Transfer ownership of digital content and train successors as needed.
• Emails are turned off soon after employees depart from their positions.
• Set up an autoreply in Outlook redirecting emails to the department’s general address, and communicate with others and share the new email address they can use.
• Return all Iowa State–owned equipment from remote workspaces.
• Deactivate licenses as instructed by IT.
• Finalize all outstanding expenses, advances, and travel.
• Ensure time and leave reporting is up to date in Workday.

IT Responsibilities:

• Provide the manager with a list of equipment, software, and licenses assigned to the employee.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Confirm the successful transfer of accounts and software.
• Verify all Iowa State–owned items have been accounted for, including keys, ID cards, computers, phones, lab equipment, and p-cards.

Employee Responsibilities:

• Clean out workspace, removing personal belongings and leaving University-owned equipment.
• Return all checked-out materials (e.g., library books, equipment).

IT Responsibilities:

• Remove the employee from email lists and groups.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Request the college web developer to remove the employee from directories.
• Update passwords for departmental shared accounts, if applicable.
• Remove the employee from shared inboxes, software, and CyBox folders.
• Notify relevant staff of changes in project contacts.
• Continue training successors as needed.

IT Responsibilities:

• Disconnect the phone line, if necessary.
• Retrieve equipment and assets.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Compile a list of Iowa State–owned equipment used by the employee.
• Notify the Building Manager to deactivate card access.
• Submit a ticket to the Solutions Center to disable Net-ID access.
• Inform College IT about the separation date for software access termination.

IT Responsibilities:

• Provide the manager with a list of assigned equipment, software, and licenses.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Follow UHR instructions for separation procedures.
• Confirm that all University-owned equipment remains in the workspace.
• Remove the employee’s accounts from shared software and systems.
• Update passwords for shared accounts.
• Verify that the employee left the university keys in their office/workplace.

IT Responsibilities:

• Remove the employee from email lists and groups.

Manager Responsibilities:

• Reassign tasks and notify staff of contact changes.
• Request the web developer to update directories and departmental pages.
• Verify that accounts and software have been transitioned appropriately.
• Evaluate and manage the employee’s analog and digital records:
  • Transfer active records to a shared location.
  • Destroy or archive inactive records as per University policy.

IT Responsibilities:

• Disconnect the phone line, if necessary.
• Retrieve equipment and assets.

• Remove Workday community access.
• Reminder to return parking tag.
• Cancellation of P-Card.
• Return University Property.
• Electronic Files.
• ISU Email account deactivation.
• Return University Keys.
• Send in final expense reports.
• Update home address.
• Complete Final Leave report.
• Staff Exit Survey.
• Option for supplemental retirement plan.
• Review documents.
• Additional To-Dos occur for retirees, faculty, and emeritus related to those specific statuses.

• Oversee the return of University property.
• Manage computer access.
• Review employee separation tasks.
• Complete the faculty separation checklist, if applicable.

• Remove user-based security groups.
• Process separation payouts.
• Update retiree status, if applicable.