Prepare a joiner or leaver handover

Work through the steps.

1. 01

   For a joiner: define the job

   List the applications, groups, shared folders and equipment needed for the person's role. Identify each owner who can approve access; copying all permissions from a colleague can carry unnecessary access across.

   Ask IT to create the individual account and allocate suitable licences under your approved process. Arrange MFA setup and a first-day check of sign-in, mail, Teams and the business applications actually needed.

2. 02

   For a leaver: plan preservation first

   Confirm the departure timing with HR and the manager. Ask them to nominate an authorised owner for business mail and files, and identify retention or legal-hold requirements before changes are made.

   Have IT plan sign-in blocking, session/access review, data handover and equipment return. Account deletion or licence removal can affect access to data; these need an approved, tenant-specific sequence.

3. 03

   Close the handover

   Include non-Microsoft applications, shared credentials, phone services and external access in the review. Owners should authorise any mailbox delegation or forwarding rather than assuming it is permitted.

   Record completed actions and exceptions against the request. Confirm who owns any remaining task, including returned equipment, recovery of business data and a later access review.