Offboarding Should Begin When Notice Is Given

An employee offboarding process should begin when notice is given, not on the employee’s final day.

A recent lawsuit involving Apple, OpenAI, and two former Apple employees highlights why. The complaint alleges that confidential information and company equipment were accessed or used after employees began transitioning out of the organization.

The allegations have not been proven in court. But the situation raises an important question for every employer: What happens between the moment an employee gives notice and the moment they officially leave?

In our work with clients, we often see offboarding procedures that are well documented from an administrative perspective but less coordinated across HR, managers, and IT.

That gap can create challenges during the notice period, especially when the departing employee still has access to systems, customer information, company devices, and confidential files.

Resignations Change the Timeline

Terminations give an employer control over the sequence. The meeting happens at a set time, system access can be removed immediately, and company property can be collected before the employee leaves.

Resignations are different. The employee sets the timeline, and the notice period creates a transition during which they may still have access to sensitive systems, files, devices, customer information, and internal conversations.

Most employees leave professionally. A structured process still helps ensure that access, responsibilities, and information are managed appropriately during the transition.

The challenge is rarely that a business has no offboarding policy. More often, the policy assumes that offboarding begins on the final day. By then, important decisions may already have been made without clear coordination.

When someone gives notice, the organization should understand:

Which systems and files the employee still needs to access
Which information should be preserved
Which responsibilities need to be transferred
Who is responsible for returning company property
Who owns each step of the process

These decisions require coordination among HR, the employee’s manager, IT, and, when appropriate, legal counsel. Clear ownership helps ensure that the transition is managed consistently and that important steps are not overlooked.

Offboarding Requires Judgment

mployees take their experience, judgment, and professional knowledge with them when they leave. That is a normal part of the employment relationship.

At the same time, employers have a responsibility to protect confidential documents, customer data, technical information, and proprietary processes.

A thoughtful offboarding process respects both realities.

It also recognizes that different roles may require different transition plans. An employee with access to customer records may present different considerations than someone working with product designs, financial information, or proprietary systems.

Similarly, a senior leader joining a direct competitor may require a different level of planning than an employee moving into an unrelated industry.

A standard checklist creates consistency, but it does not replace judgment about the employee’s role, access, responsibilities, and timing.

Five Questions to Ask When Someone Gives Notice

When an employee resigns, the organization should be able to answer:

Has HR notified the manager, IT, and other appropriate stakeholders?
Does the employee still need all of their current access during the notice period?
Has a knowledge transfer plan been created, including who will own each responsibility?
Who is responsible for collecting company property?
Have confidentiality obligations and any continuing responsibilities been reviewed?

These questions should be addressed before the final day, not after.

Technology Needs a People Process Around It

Organizations do not need to assume that every departing employee is a threat. They do need clear processes for responding when unusual activity occurs.

Examples may include:

Large downloads of company files
Transfers to personal accounts
Unusual printing activity
Use of unapproved storage devices
Access to systems unrelated to the employee’s role

The appropriate response will depend on the employee’s position, the sensitivity of the information, company policy, and applicable law.

HR does not need to monitor technical activity directly. But the offboarding process should define how HR, IT, and management work together when a concern is identified.

Policies are most effective when the surrounding process supports them. A confidentiality agreement is less useful if no one confirms which devices were returned or whether company files remain in personal accounts. A security alert is less useful if no one knows who is responsible for reviewing it.

The controls need to work together.

Protecting Information Starts Before Someone Joins

Effective offboarding is only one part of protecting confidential information.

Organizations should also establish clear expectations for employees joining from another company. New employees bring valuable experience and knowledge, but they should not bring their former employer’s devices, documents, customer lists, technical files, or confidential information.

Hiring managers should understand the difference between learning about a candidate’s experience and asking for information the candidate has no right to share.

Those expectations should be established during onboarding, not after a concern arises.

The same principle applies to AI tools and other third-party platforms. Employees may upload documents, customer data, or business information to external systems without fully understanding the potential impact.

Clear expectations help employees make better decisions and help organizations maintain control over their information.

Review the Process Before You Need It

The Apple case will ultimately be decided in court. The broader lesson does not require a verdict.

Organizations do not need to wait for a serious incident to review whether their employee offboarding process is working as intended. Start by comparing the written policy with what actually happens when someone gives notice.

Are the right people notified? Is access reviewed based on the employee’s role? Are responsibilities and client relationships transferred clearly? Is company property returned? Does everyone understand how confidentiality obligations apply during and after the transition?

At Converge, we help organizations examine these handoffs and identify where HR, managers, and IT can work together more effectively.

The goal is a process that protects business information, supports continuity, reinforces accountability, and still reflects the organization’s values.

If you are reviewing your employee offboarding process, the Converge team can help identify opportunities to strengthen coordination before an employee’s final day.

Talk to the Converge Team

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