New Starters and Leavers: The IT Checklist Every Business Needs

Every business has people joining and leaving. Yet in many small businesses, the IT side is handled differently every time, depending on who remembers what.

The result is familiar. A new starter spends their first morning waiting for a login. A leaver can still read company email three months after they’ve gone. Nobody is quite sure who has the password to the accounts software.

A simple, repeatable process fixes both. Here’s what it should include.

Before a new starter arrives

Give your IT team, or whoever looks after your IT, at least a few days’ notice. Then make sure these are ready before day one:

• Their Microsoft 365 or Google account, with the right email address and licence
• A laptop or computer that’s set up, updated, protected and tested
• Access to the right shared folders, mailboxes and Teams channels, and nothing more
• Logins for any business software they’ll use, such as your accounts, CRM or industry systems
• A phone extension or Teams number, if they’ll be taking calls
• Two-step sign-in set up, or a plan to set it up with them on the first morning

It’s worth having a short form your managers fill in for each new starter: name, start date, job role, which systems they need, and who they replace, if anyone. That way nothing depends on memory.

On their first day

The best first days include a short, friendly IT welcome. In around 15 minutes, a new starter should learn:

• How to sign in, and how two-step sign-in works
• Where to save files so they’re backed up, and where not to
• How to get help when something isn’t working
• How to spot a suspicious email, and who to tell if they click something by mistake

That last point matters more than it sounds. Criminals know new starters don’t yet know who’s who, which makes them an easy target for “urgent request from the boss” emails. A few minutes on day one is one of the cheapest protections you’ll ever buy.

When someone leaves

This is where most businesses have gaps. When someone leaves, whether happily or not, the aim is simple: their access stops when their employment stops, and nothing the business needs is lost.

On or before their last day:

1. Block their sign-in. Don’t delete the account straight away, just stop it being used.
2. Sign them out everywhere, including on their phone and any home computer.
3. Change any shared passwords they knew, such as Wi-Fi, alarm codes or shared software logins. A team password manager makes this far easier.
4. Collect their laptop, phone and any security keys, and check them in.
5. Remove them from business software, banking, supplier portals and social media accounts.

After they’ve gone

• Keep their email accessible. Customers will keep emailing them for a while. Forward their mail to a colleague, or turn their mailbox into a shared mailbox, so nothing is missed.
• Move their files to where the team can find them before the account is removed.
• Wipe and reset their laptop before it goes to someone else.
• Remove their licence once you no longer need the account, so you stop paying for it.

That last step is surprisingly common. We regularly find businesses paying for Microsoft 365 licences for people who left months or even years ago.

Keep a simple record

For every person, keep a record of what they were given and what access they had. It doesn’t need to be complicated. A shared checklist that’s ticked off for each joiner and leaver is enough, as long as it’s used every time.

This also helps with insurance and Cyber Essentials. Both increasingly expect you to show that access is removed promptly when people leave.

Make it someone’s job

The most important step is deciding who owns this process. If you have an IT partner, joiners and leavers should be part of the service, with a simple form to fill in and the rest handled for you.

At My Tech Team, setting up new starters and switching off leavers is included in our managed IT support. You tell us who’s joining or leaving, and we make sure it’s done properly, every time.

Need a hand?

If you’re not sure who still has access to your systems, book a free IT audit. We’ll check your accounts, licences and devices, and show you anything that needs tidying up, without the jargon.