The last-day script: minute by minute

The final working day is where many offboardings go off the rails. Here's an exact timeline: 09:00 exit interview, 10:00 vault handover, 12:00 access blocked, 17:00 farewell drinks.

The last working day should be a calm one — for the person leaving and for those staying behind. That only works if there's a script to follow.

09:00 — Exit interview

30–45 minutes with HR. Feedback, questions, parting words. No IT topics.

10:00 — Knowledge and vault handover

With the successor or manager. 1 hour. Which clients, which projects, which shared logins are being transferred. Create a shared document capturing the key findings.

11:00 — Device check

IT or the office manager comes by. Transfer personal files to a separate USB drive (if the contract permits). Verify that licence keys and certificates are stored on company storage — not locally.

12:00 — Lunch break — accounts disabled

While the departing employee is at lunch, IT carries out the technical offboarding: disable M365/GW, remove MFA tokens, revoke SaaS accounts, withdraw vault ACLs. Do not do this in the presence of the departing employee.

13:00 — Final working afternoon

Set up an out-of-office autoreply on the email inbox. No new tasks assigned. Time to tie up any remaining loose ends via the manager or successor.

16:00 — Return laptop and access badge

Check off on the offboarding checklist, take a photo of the returned items for your records.

17:00 — Farewell / drinks

The next 30 days

Email forwarding to the manager. See the 30-day rule for what comes next.