Transitioning & Offboarding
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When an employee separates from your team, it’s a change for the employee, the manager, and others on the team.
As a manager, you can take a few steps to help the transition go smoothly for everyone involved, to maintain effective operations and to demonstrate the employee’s value to the team. This is particularly important to positions directly supporting students on-site, positions that support approved research, clinical support positions such as RNs, LPNs, therapists, pharmacists, ambulatory technicians and other ancillary support positions.
If the position is approved for filling, you’ll want to begin the recruiting process right away so you can get back to having a full team as soon as possible.
Transitioning work
As soon as you are aware an employee is separating from the team, begin to work with them on a transition plan detailing key responsibilities, status and timelines. This helps you plan for how their work will be accomplished when they leave. Notify others who may be assisting with covering the responsibilities, and have the person who’s departing and the person who’s covering begin working together on the transition as soon as possible.
For the remainder of the employees’ time, shift their responsibilities as much as possible so they can focus on documenting and transitioning their work, and finishing projects and work that is close to milestones or completion.
Separating with a sense of value and connection
Your employee has dedicated their skills, expertise, time, and energy to your team and to the University of Rochester. As they leave your team – and perhaps the University – consider how to celebrate them and their contributions.
Each employee may prefer something different, so ask them how they’d like to be acknowledged. Some may simply like a card from co-workers, others may like bagels with the team, and others may like a party. For teams with remote workers, be creative – perhaps a Zoom going-away party, a PowerPoint with messages and pictures, or a compilation of video messages.
It’s also important to consider consistency within your team and with other teams, so you may want to set some broad guidelines (such as a dollar amount, or certain types of celebrations for certain years of service, etc.) and then make it known that people can decide how they want to be acknowledged within those guidelines.
Exiting
Managers will receive an exit checklist via myURHR once they have submitted the termination business process. The checklist offers general guidance regarding return of University property, systems access, and transition of work assignments as applicable. Additionally, myURHR will prompt the departing employee to complete a voluntary Exit Survey. This offers a great opportunity to gather feedback about their experience working at the University of Rochester and offer insights to identify opportunities for improvement.
Additional resources
Our Leaving the University of Rochester page offers a variety of links to resources and information helpful to employees and supervisors.
Resources for Leaving the University of Rochester
Management Resources
- Meliora & Our Campus Culture
- Employee Benefits
- Search HR Policies & Procedures
- Professional Success
- New Employee Orientation