Offboarding & Knowledge Retention

Offboarding refers to the structured process by which employees leave an organization. In addition to technical and organizational steps, the process also includes social aspects. Managers bear overall responsibility for planning and managing the departure process for employees in their team. Depending on the type of departure, the offboarding process can be quite tight in terms of time, for example, in the case of termination during the probationary period—and allows for more or less flexibility in planning.

Why is a well-structured and positive offboarding process important?

On the one hand, it involves managing the transfer of knowledge and the handover of responsibilities. Especially when long-term employees leave an organization, there is a risk that valuable (experiential) knowledge will be lost. On the other hand, it is about appropriately recognizing the person’s contributions and commitment to the University of Tübingen and receiving feedback. A pleasant and professional departure process makes it more likely that employees will consider returning to the University of Tübingen at a later date or recommend the University of Tübingen as an employer.

The way the departure process is organized also has an impact on the remaining team members. We recommend keeping the team’s needs in mind and reflecting on the departure of the respective colleagues.

After logging in to the intranet,

you will find the offboarding checklist for managers available for download, as well as access to the staff leaving questionnaire - in case you are leaving the university and would like to provide Personnel Development with feedback on the University of Tübingen as an employer.