Your goal is the same whether it's a planned departure or a same-day exit: revoke what they no longer need, preserve what the business does need.
One week before
- List every system they have access to.
- Identify what they own (files, dashboards, automations). Brief their manager.
- Identify external accounts in their personal email.
Day of departure
- Disable the M365 / Google account at end of day — don't delete.
- Revoke MFA enrollment.
- Sign out of all sessions.
- Change shared passwords they had access to.
- Collect company devices.
- Set up email forwarding for 30–90 days.
Within a week
- Audit shared drives. Reassign ownership.
- Audit external SaaS.
- Email external suppliers to update contacts.
- Check shared inboxes.
- Update tools register.
Common mistakes
- Deleting the account immediately.
- Leaving the account active ‘just in case.’
- Forgetting external SaaS.