When a senior employee leaves, our goal is always to part on good terms, preserving relationships and honoring the contributions they’ve made. Most of the time, that is exactly what happens, and the business moves forward with goodwill on both sides. But sometimes, circumstances make for a more difficult departure, and when that occurs, leaders must balance empathy with pragmatism. Even in those cases, taking the right protective steps is not about assuming the worst, but rather, it is about safeguarding the company so it can continue serving employees, customers, and partners well.

Immediate Access Control

• Revoke all login credentials: Disable email, VPN, SSO accounts, domain logins, cloud services, and any direct database access.
• Change shared credentials: Reset passwords for team accounts, shared email inboxes, social media, admin dashboards, and Wi-Fi if they had the password.
• Revoke API keys and tokens: Ensure any keys tied to their personal accounts are disabled.
• Terminate device access: Remove company phones, laptops, tablets from MDM (mobile device management) systems; wipe if necessary.
• Adjust multi-factor authentication (MFA): Remove their devices from MFA lists and re-enroll others.

Systems & Data Security

• Audit recent activity: Review logs for unusual downloads, data transfers, or account creations leading up to departure.
• Check for backdoors: Look for undocumented admin accounts, scheduled jobs, or scripts.
• Review cloud storage: Audit access to Google Drive, Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., for bulk downloads or external shares.
• Secure source code and repositories: Remove access to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket; check for unusual forks or clones.
• Review CRM/ERP access: Confirm no data exports or unauthorized modifications.
• Review general email access: If there is a chance the exiting employee had access to other employees' email accounts, have employees change email passwords as a precaution. 

Legal & Compliance

• Exit interview documentation: Capture acknowledgments of confidentiality, non-compete, and IP agreements.
• Reinforce legal obligations: Send a written reminder of contractual duties around proprietary data, trade secrets, and solicitation.
• Preserve evidence: If contentious, ensure IT creates a forensic image of devices and critical logs in case of disputes.
• Regulatory requirements: For industries like finance, healthcare, or jewelry (AML/RJC), confirm compliance steps are followed for customer data handling.

Operational Continuity

• Knowledge transfer: Secure documentation of processes, credentials, and system configurations.
• Redirect communications: Forward their email/phone to a designated person; update auto-replies with new contact info.
• Reassign approvals: Shift workflows (e.g., purchase orders, code reviews, financial signoffs) to active staff.
• Review dependencies: Identify projects or automations where they were the sole point of knowledge.

People & Culture

• Transparent communication: Tell relevant teams who will assume responsibilities to prevent confusion.
• Monitor morale: Senior departures—especially contentious ones—can unsettle others; reinforce stability and direction.
• Check for insider risk: If others are aligned with the departing employee, verify they aren’t carrying away data or access.

Post-Exit Monitoring

• Enhanced logging and alerts: Watch for attempted logins from their credentials, devices, or IP addresses.
• Dark web/data monitoring: Depending on sensitivity, consider whether company data appears in unauthorized places.
• Periodic credential review: Make sure no old accounts resurface weeks later.

Preventive Practices for the Future

• Principle of least privilege: Senior staff often accumulate access over years; review quarterly.
• Centralized credential management: Use SSO and password managers to reduce orphaned accounts.
• Formal offboarding checklist: Standardize this process so it’s repeatable and not personality-dependent.
• Succession planning: Ensure no one person is the sole gatekeeper for critical systems.
• Priority Sequence in a Contentious Exit
• Immediate lockout (all accounts and devices).
• Audit logs for suspicious actions.
• Secure shared credentials.
• Reassign workflows.
• Document legal and compliance position.