---
title: "On- and offboarding team members"
source: The Turing Way
source_url: https://github.com/the-turing-way/the-turing-way
licence: CC-BY-4.0
domain: data-and-analysis
subdomain: turing-way
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

(cl-team-manual-on-off-boarding)=
# On- and offboarding team members

Having clear onboarding processes ensure that group members are off to a good start in the lab. 
Offboarding processes ensure that everything is taken care off when lab members leave for a future step. 
The on- and offboarding checklists below provide some pointers on how to set up the on/off boarding checklists of your group, that can be a part of your {ref}`Team Manual <cl-team-manual>`.

(cl-team-manual-on-boarding)=
## Onboarding Checklist
* Review relevant documents provided in a main resource such the {ref}`Team Manual <cl-team-manual>`. 
Information may include:
    * List of team members, their roles and projects
    * Institutional policies as well as participation guidelines of the research group, institute, funder or country.
    * Code of Conduct and reporting mechanism.
    * Point of contacts for IT, HR, data protection, legal, communications  or other teams who you might need to connect for different purposes.
    * Authorship and contributorship guidelines.
* Check whether the team has a {ref}`Data Management Plan<rr-rdm-dmp>` or whether you need to set this up yourself 
    * Review your storage options and access to software and tools such as {ref}`Electronic Lab Notebooks<rr-rdm-elns>`.
    * Especially when working with {ref}`sensitive data<pd-sdp>` it is important to familiarise new team members with the recommended practices.
    * Consider options for long term storage and data sharing
* Set up documentation for your workflows (lab notes, project repository, README files) based on the recommendations provided by your team (ideally outlined in the Team Manual or Data management Plan). 
    * Check whether there are existing templates that can be reused. 
* Ensure access to all needed facilities (lab pass, keys, folders, storage locations).
* If any of this information is not clear, provide feedback on the onboarding process to improve it for future lab members!

(cl-team-manual-off-boarding)=
## Offboarding Checklist

* Research objects are publicly shared via an appropriate data repository
* Research objects that are not publicly shared are stored internally and responsibilities have been transferred, including access to documentation (READme files or labnotes) and ethical approvals.
* Research objects that are dispensable are cleaned up to avoid unnecessary storage clutter and confusion. 
* The content of the Data Management Plan has been transferred, so that data can be found and reused within the research team. 
* It is clear which physical reagents are relevant and where they are stored - irrelevant reagents have been cleaned up. 
* Contact details for the future are provided - other personal data is removed
* Have an exit meeting with supervisor/department head or HR.
* Return any borrowed property (keys, passes, equipment).
* The leaving lab member can be provided with a statement that describes their contributions during their employment, instead of having to rely on future reference letters.

(cl-team-manual-off-boarding-example)=
### Examples

- [example offboarding checklist](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7520527)

(cl-team-manual-on-off-boarding-resources)=
## More information
* [Harvard on and offboarding lists](https://osf.io/pw7ed/)
* Research Data
    * [Research Data Exit Checklist](http://hdl.handle.net/2142/111616)
    * [Project Close-Out Checklist for Research Data](https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200519-142758925)
    * [Data Departure checklist](https://doi.org/10.7907/h314-4x51)
* [It takes a laboratory to avoid data loss](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02967-3)
