Offboarding University Employees

1. Purpose 

Offboarding is the process of separating an employee from the University, whether it is a resignation, retirement, or any another reason.  When an employee’s employment is terminated, either voluntary or involuntary, their manager or department administrator must initiate a series of actions to ensure all aspects of offboarding are properly managed.  This Policy details the University’s offboarding procedures.    

2. Applicability  

Enterprise-wide 

3. Definitions 

Effective Date means the date in the Human Resources system designated as the first day after the employee’s Separation Date as defined below.   

Offboarding means the process of effectively transitioning a separating employee out of the organization.  

Separation Date means the date an employee officially separates from the University, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and is determined by employee type as follows: 

• Staff (TEAMS/USPS/LEO) and Faculty:  The employee’s last workday with the unit.  
• Contractual Workforce (Adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, post docs):  Agreed upon date stated on offer letter and if deviating from original date, following the set guidelines per university regulations or collective bargaining agreements. 
• Casual Workforce (OPS/student assistants):  Date designated by the employee to end their employment, or the date the unit determines that the services of the employee are no longer needed.  

4. Policy Statement 

The Offboarding Policy facilitates an employee’s separation and mitigates risk to the University by ensuring managers secure all University property and information, maintain business continuity, and complete all other necessary tasks concerning an employee’s separation.  In addition, it provides for exit interviews, when possible, to gain information and insights about the UF employment experience. 

4.1 Guiding Principles 

The offboarding of an employee is a collaborative effort requiring participation from several individuals to be completed correctly and timely.  The goal of this procedure is to create a respectful, timely separation of every employee from the university.  What follows are the roles and responsibilities of separating employees, managers, and human resources staff for a given offboarding situation.    

4.1.1  Resignation, Retirement, and Temporary Assignments   

When an employee resigns or retires, or when a temporary assignment is ending, certain individuals have the following responsibilities:   

4.1.1.a. Employees.  An employee must provide adequate written notice to their supervisor.  What constitutes adequate notice depends upon their employment classification and whether they are exempt or non-exempt employees as set forth in University guidelines. 

4.1.1.b. Direct Supervisor or Manager.  Supervisors and managers must accept an employee’s written notice of resignation or retirement and notify Human Resources of the separation as soon as possible, but no later than five business days before the proposed Separation Date.  

4.1.1.c. Human Resources.  Human resources personnel must coordinate offboarding activities utilizing the University’s HR system within three days prior to the Separation Date and notify affected departments and personnel no later than the Separation Date.  

4.1.2. Non-Renewal and Termination for Cause 

Managers must complete certain administrative requirements to effectuate the separation through Human Resources.  Accordingly, managers must engage HR Employee Relations as soon as they become aware of a pending separation to ensure the appropriate administrative functions are completed timely.  

4.2 Separation Tasks 

Once an employee or the University has established a pending Separation Date, the employee’s direct supervisor must contact their department’s human resources team to begin the separation process.  The specifics of this process are provided in the UFHR Offboarding Standard Operating Procedures.  Managers must complete the Employee Exit Checklist whenever possible before the Separation Date. 

The termination ePAF must be entered into the university HR system as soon as it is known, but no later than 3 days prior effective termination date. All pertinent departmental affiliations, security roles, and access must be removed on the last date of employment. 

4.3 University Property and Information 

The employee, their direct supervisor, and the respective department’s human resources team must ensure all university property is returned on or before the Separation Date. University property includes, but is not limited to, keys, university identification, parking permits, access cards, purchasing cards, research materials, computing resources, and office equipment.  

Similarly, the employee’s direct supervisor must work with the respective department’s human resources team to ensure the separating employee is removed from all University affiliations, security roles, emails accounts, and access to university systems by close of business on the Separation Date.   

4.4 Business Continuity 

When an employee’s separation is foreseeable, the employee, their direct supervisor, and the respective department’s human resources team must develop a plan to transition the separating employee’s knowledge and responsibilities to ensure business continuity. While each plan should be tailored to the given circumstances, all plans must include the following elements: 

1. Identifying the duties and responsibilities of the respective position to include updating the positions description if needed; 

2. Identifying any gaps in support or lack of accountability;  

3. Developing measurable goals to transition seamlessly to new or interim staff and fill any support or accountability gaps; and 

4. Developing a concise but achievable timeline for the transition.    

4.5 Exit Interviews 

The final step to a successful offboarding is to offer separating employees an opportunity to provide feedback concerning their experience working at the University.  Separating employees may complete the Employee Exit Survey or request an exit interview with a human resources.  This process encourages candid feedback concerning their time at the University and an opportunity to suggest improvements to the employee experience. 

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