When a key employee walks out the door, the risk to your company’s data does not leave with them. Indeed, data exfiltration from departing employees remains an issue for all businesses seeking to protect confidential, sensitive or proprietary information. The moment someone with access to sensitive information gives notice, companies need to move quickly to restrict access, preserve system logs, secure cloud accounts, and make sure no one is quietly syncing files to a personal device. Offboarding is no longer just an HR checklist. It is an information‑governance moment that can determine whether your information assets stay protected or walk out with them.

A strong response does not have to be complicated, but it does have to be coordinated. Legal, HR, and IT should be aligned on how to proceed. This coordination should be set forth in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand policy so that it becomes a routine part of offboarding. These steps can prevent a small issue from turning into a costly dispute months later. If your organization wants to tighten its offboarding process or build a more defensible protocol, Cozen O’Connor’s eDiscovery and Information Governance team can help you put the right guardrails in place before a problem arises.

If your organization would like to tighten its offboarding process or draft comprehensive policies, our team is ready to assist. At CODISCOVR, we deliver client-focused, defensible solutions that are tailored to each organization’s specific needs. Reach out to Nicholas Berenato, Information Governance Principal, CODISCOVR. Nick is an attorney who collaborates with clients to address legal and financial exposure from their information assets through information governance. He develops strategies and policies to enable clients to effectively manage their data in a manner that minimizes costs and allows clients to leverage their data to support their business processes.