Admin Exit Interview

It can be hard to collect information from exiting employees for a number of reasons: being disgruntled, having lost motivation, being distracted by their new job/move, etc.

Do you have remote work employees? How will you collect your intellectual and physical property from remote workers? It is vital that these things are planned and agreed upon, in writing, in advance (like when the worker first starts working remotely).

This is a list of items to collect from exiting admins and bookkeepers. Most of this should be saved in a shared company location (server, Google Drive, etc). The items in bold need to be collected upon exit BUT owners need to ensure there is a comprehensive list of all company property given to employees. This list is then used at the exit interview to ensure everything is collected.

Import items to collect from admin:

1. All log ins

Email/user name and passwords.

Any logins tied to a cell phone number?

Change cell phone number to company owned cell.

All passwords will need to be changed at exit.

2. Important due dates

Admin should provide a list of important due dates to ensure nothing is missed.

This includes software, state registration and insurance renewals.

3. All files, documents and notes

All files and documents are considered company property and need to be returned to the company before exit day.

This also includes any and all notes that the admin has which could include to do list of unfinished items, step-by-step instructions that have been written down, passwords, and credit card numbers and check routing numbers.

4. Credit cards, credit card numbers, check routing numbers and checks

These must all be returned to the company.

If the admin wrote down credit card numbers and check routing numbers, those notes should be returned to the company.

5. All company property must be returned before exit day

This includes cell phones, keys, credit cards, computers, and any other items that the employee had ownership of during their employment.

6. Standard operating procedures

The admin most likely took notes when they were trained by their predecessor. They should have documented processes as they worked as well. These standard operating procedures, also called SOPs, are a vital component to being able to transfer the work to a new employee. Office managers and executive administrators, those employees who had a higher level of responsibility, should provide written or video instructions before exiting.

A great way to create standard operating procedures is to set up a Zoom meeting and record it. The admin would be explaining what they are doing on the screen as they do it, and ideally they are cross-training someone who can ask questions, and those questions are also recorded as part of the meeting.

7. Status report/to do list

No admin can finish everything before they leave, but they all should know what action items have not been completed yet and where they left off in their work. This includes when they last reconciled the checking account and the credit card account, when they last submitted insurance claims, and any other responsibilities they have and where they’ve left off. 

By creating a task list of all the things that the admin was responsible for you can then ask them where they left off. For example, have insurance claims been submitted for March? 

This is a vital component to the exit. We need to know where the new people are going to pick up, and we do not want to have to have a higher-level staff person dig into everything to figure out what’s been done/hasn’t been done and where everything has been left. 

Really good admins are going to deliver all of these items in a very organized fashion because that is their nature. It’s important to set the business up for success and not failure when exiting the company, especially if their roles and responsibilities were high-level.