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Email Offboarding

Examination
   

OPTIONS FOR DEPARTING EMPLOYEE EMAIL ACCOUNTS

May 2025 | Nextworks


Undeliverable Email

When an employee leaves an organization, especially if they are terminated, handling their email account properly is crucial for security, continuity, and legal compliance.

First and foremost, the departing employee should quickly be locked out of their email. Once this is completed, the following 5 options can be considered.

Options are sorted by popularity.



Delete the Account


Convert to a Shared Mailbox


Set Up Email Forwarding


Archive the Mailbox, then Delete the Account


Apply Legal Hold or Retention Policies




Final Considerations

if option 2 or 3 is selected, an "out of office" auto-responder message can be sent in response to incoming emails.

For example:

Sheila is no longer with Acme Corporation. Please direct future correspondence to Jacob Smith at jsmith@acme.com. This email has been forwarded so you do not need to resend your message. Thank you.

Nextworks has an employee offboarding form in our Client Portal allowing you to specify your email flow decision..

Remember to tidy up down the road. If options 2, 3, or 5 are chosen, you will want to make a calendar reminder to let your IT provider know to close out any forwards, shared mailboxes, or legal holds.



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