IT Strategy
The IT onboarding and offboarding checklist
A good IT onboarding and offboarding checklist gives every new hire the right access on day one and removes all of it the moment someone leaves. Here are both checklists, and why offboarding is the bigger risk.
A solid IT onboarding and offboarding checklist makes sure every new hire gets exactly the access they need on day one, and every departing employee loses all of it the moment they leave. Done well, it speeds up hiring and closes the stale-account security gap that turnover quietly opens.
Why IT onboarding and offboarding matter
Onboarding sets the tone: a new hire who waits days for a working laptop and logins starts behind. Offboarding is the bigger risk. An account that is never disabled is an open door, and departing employees are a common source of data loss. A repeatable checklist removes both problems.
The IT onboarding checklist
Before day one: provision the device and enroll it in management; create accounts with only the access the role needs (least privilege); set up email, Microsoft 365, and required apps; enforce multi-factor authentication; and brief the new hire on security basics. The goal is a fully configured, secure device waiting on their first morning, not a week of setup tickets.
The IT offboarding checklist
The moment someone leaves: disable their accounts and revoke every login, including email, Microsoft 365, VPN, and any third-party apps; reset shared passwords they knew; collect or remotely wipe their devices; forward or preserve their mailbox and files; and remove them from access groups. Speed matters. This should happen on the last day, not the following week.
How managed IT makes this repeatable
The risk with any checklist is that a busy week means a step gets skipped. A managed IT provider turns onboarding and offboarding into a documented, repeatable process tied to your systems, so access is granted and revoked correctly every time. A quick security check will show whether old accounts are still lingering in your environment.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an IT onboarding checklist?
- It is the set of steps to get a new hire working securely on day one: provisioning and enrolling their device, creating least-privilege accounts, setting up email and Microsoft 365, enforcing multi-factor authentication, and a brief on security basics.
- What should an IT offboarding checklist include?
- Disable all accounts and revoke every login (email, Microsoft 365, VPN, third-party apps), reset shared passwords the person knew, collect or remotely wipe their devices, preserve their mailbox and files, and remove them from access groups, ideally on their last day.
- Why is offboarding a security risk?
- An account that is never disabled is an open door for a former employee or an attacker who finds it. Departing staff are a common source of data loss, so prompt, complete offboarding is one of the cheapest ways to reduce risk.
- When should offboarding happen?
- On the employee's last day, ideally at the moment access is no longer needed. Waiting days or weeks leaves active accounts and known passwords in place, which is exactly the window attackers and disgruntled leavers exploit.
- How does bdManagedIT handle onboarding and offboarding?
- We make both a documented, repeatable process tied to your systems, so a new hire gets a configured device and the right access on day one, and a departing employee loses all access immediately. It is part of managed IT.
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