Onboarding / Offboarding tasks through an Operations lens

Thinking in terms of Accounting, there is a certain pleasure when you are closing a month and have a crazy match between all the expenses and all the invoices / receipts ?? nothing is missing.?

This is a major turn on for yours truly ??

When it comes to bringing on a new employee to the team, the feeling should be the same, but most companies forget that for every Onboarding task there is the need to have an Offboarding task associated with it.

But why think about someone leaving the company when they are just joining??

It’s called planning, people!?

And it saves time, money and is less prone to error.

First things first…

In order to start the Onboarding process, Operations needs as much information as possible, so they need to ask HR. Or if you are working in a Startup, you just put on a different hat, as you are the same person ??

The “Employee X” folder is crucial and it should be created at inception and filled with:

When all documents are signed, mainly the employment contract / agreement, then comes all the Operational tasks and here is where we need to think ahead and do some matching:

• Create a company email / alias ?? Cancel email / alias?
• Grant access to email groups (if applicable) ?? Remove access
• Grant access to Drive folders (general) + specific folders (team) ?? Remove access
• Grant access to generic internal communication channels (Slack, Google chat, Workplace) ?? Remove access
• Grant access to internal working tools such as Jira, Confluence, Trello, Hubspot, Asana, Monday, GIT ?? Remove access ?? Nice TIP 1 (see below)
• Request Employee Meal Allowance card (if applicable) ?? Cancel card
• Implement Employee Benefits tracking (if applicable) ?? Cancel tracking ?? Nice TIP 2 (see below)
• Inform Accountant of new Employee entry ?? Inform Accountant of Employee leaving
• Implement payroll ?? Cancel payroll
• Schedule work medicine consultation (up to 2 weeks of entry date), if applicable
• Does the person need a computer or any specific Hardware? Make sure to validate with their Manager first. If yes, buy / allocate an available equipment and update Inventory ?? Recollect Hardware and update Inventory ?? Nice TIP 3 (see below)
• Does the person need any specific Software? Make sure to validate with their Manager first. If yes, buy and update the Subscriptions list as shown in ?? Nice TIP 1 (see below) ?? Remove employee from Software and update Subscriptions list
• Insert employee in Work Insurance (if applicable) ?? Remove employee
• Insert employee in Health Insurance (if applicable) ?? Remove employee
• Insert employee's birthday in calendar ?? Remove birthday?
• Share Email signature template?
• Fill Holiday map in ?? Remove employee from Holiday map
• Deliver personal computer ?? Recollect personal computer
• Make internal announcement about the new team member ?? Make internal announcement about the team member leaving
• Update company's website - insert info about the new team member ?? Update company's website - remove info about the team member

These are common tasks.

They are so common that sometimes it’s easy to forget them.

So, please write them down.?

A good option to plan the Onboarding of a new team member is to think about your own experience. What did I miss? What would I like to have learned? And then prepare the best possible experience for the new person.

For example, sometimes you come into the new company, and all they show you is where the company information is stored. It’s up to you to read and learn.?This is not a good experience to remember.

As a complement, Operations must initiate the communication channel and share what is expected from the Employee on different moments:

Before the entry date

• Send an email with the expected next steps and share an Admission Form (to gather all the data needed for contractual documents)?
• Define the Onboarding Schedule with the future manager and identify possible training needs
• Place the Onboarding Schedule on the onboarding calendar and share it with the Employee and manager
• Send a welcome present, something like a company merchandise (a t-shirt or a cup) or even some cookies. This token of appreciation should have a card welcoming the person to the team

On the first day

• Make a tour in the office and share nice places to hang or eat nearby. Explain possible parking options and public transportation as well. If the company has an on-site or hybrid method this works perfectly.
• Deliver any equipment and make sure the employee knows the Wi-Fi password ??
• Explain overall company procedures and share drive folders or internal wiki
• If possible, schedule a lunch with some team members so they engage
• Make yourself available for any questions, open a direct channel for communication.

And here it is, a quick (although long read) guide to Onboarding / Offboarding tasks. As always, this is a dynamic process and all feedback is welcome, that is why Operations should ask the Employee for feedback about the process. This can be done with a quick chat, but I suggest making a Google form at least six months after the Onboarding.

The collected data will help shape and improve the process. Also, it's good data to share with management.

?? Nice tips:

1. Make a Subscriptions tracking sheet with the following columns:

You will be amazed of how much money you spend on a monthly basis!

2. List all your benefits and share them on your company website. Make benchmarks with other companies to align with the market.

3. Keep track of all company Hardware in the company inventory list. When delivering any equipment to the Employee make sure they understand that it is company-owned, provided during the term of the Employment contract / agreement, and that it should only be used for work-related purposes. Also, the employee is responsible for the care and maintenance of the equipment. Write this on a document and have the employee sign it. Don't forget to define and share the process for equipment repair or loss.

?? I help startups keep track of day-to-day operations by simplifying data flow within the company and between shareholders. This article is based on my experience working in Startup Operations. All feedback is welcome ??

#operations #startups #strategy