How to Offboard Employees in Google Workspace: 10 Watchpoints to Avoid Data Breaches

Employee changes are an inevitable part of business life. People move to new roles and teams restructure, but whenever someone leaves your organisation, the process involves more than collecting their laptop and saying goodbye. Each departure can create potential gaps in your data security, particularly if access to Google Workspace isn’t carefully managed.

From Gmail accounts to Shared Drives, former employees often have more access to sensitive files than you might realise. When this access isn’t properly revoked, it can expose confidential information or disrupt workflows for those still in the business. So, having a clear offboarding strategy is so important. In this guide, we have shared 10 watchpoints for offboarding employees in Google Workspace to help you protect company data, maintain compliance, and ensure a smooth transition for your team.

Google Workspace Offboarding Essentials

To maintain data security in Google Workspace when an employee leaves your organisation, it’s crucial to have a suitable offboarding process in place. Offboarding isn’t just about deleting an account; there are important steps to take to prevent significant data risks and ensure former employees can no longer access sensitive information, shared files, or connected apps.

Common scenarios of breaches from ex-employees include: 

• Intentional data theft, such as downloading or sharing client lists or confidential files​
• Accidental data leaks, whether it’s previously shared calendars or orphaned files in Drive 
• Continuing access, via personal mobile devices or authorised third-party apps. 

To address these risks, following an offboarding checklist is essential. This ensures each part of the process is completed consistently for every departing user. A well-documented process not only helps prevent unauthorised access and data loss but also ensures compliance with regulations such as ISO27001 and GDPR by providing clear audit trails across IT and HR.

Effective offboarding helps manage costs by freeing up unused Google Workspace licenses, enabling efficient reallocation and savings across your IT budget. It also ensures a smooth handover, minimises disruption to ongoing projects and maintains operational continuity for teams who depend on shared files, emails, or resources.​

Step-by-Step Offboarding for Google Workspace

Here are some steps to prioritise in your offboarding process to maintain data security across Google Workspace. Fortunately, the majority of these steps are very straightforward to complete in the Google Admin console. 

• Change Passwords

This might seem straightforward, but it’s so important. Reset the user’s password to immediately lock them out and prevent further access to their old account. You can choose an automatically generated password or create one yourself. 

• Remove Recovery Options

Delete the recovery email address and phone number associated with the account. This prevents the ex-employee from using the password recovery feature to regain access to their old account, adding another layer of security. 

• Transfer Data Ownership

Transfer ownership of Google Drive files, Shared Drives, Calendar events, and other essential resources to another active user. At the same time, export email data to maintain a secure backup for any future access to communications. These steps ensure business information remains accessible to those who need it.

• Wipe Mobile Devices

Wipe work data from any mobile devices via the Google Admin console, whether they’re owned by the business or the former employee. Depending on the platform, you can remove the work account, the work profile, or all of the data in a few simple clicks. 

• Revoke Third-Party App Access

Review and revoke all third-party applications connected to the ex-employee’s Google account, so they can't access data anymore. When a new app is installed, it will ask the user to grant access to Drive files, calendars, or email. Removing these permissions ensures no outside apps retain access to vital business information.

• Remove Group Membership

Fully remove the user from any Google Workspace groups to prevent access to Shared Drives, calendars, distribution lists, and more. This will ensure they can’t continue accessing internal data or conversations after leaving the organisation. 

• Reset Sign-In Cookies

Sign the former employee out of their managed Google Account by resetting their sign-in cookies. This will sign them out of all devices they are logged into with their Google account, including mobile devices, browsers, and desktops. Suspending the user can also automatically reset their sign-in cookies, ensuring they’re logged out.

• Set Up Email Auto-Reply

Create an out-of-office for the user’s Gmail account so contacts are informed of their departure and receive a new point of contact. For business continuity, you can set up email forwarding or delegate mailbox access to a manager too. Delegated Access allows oversight of ongoing communications and follow-ups, ensuring nothing is missed during the offboarding period.

*However, it’s important to note that if an account is suspended, auto-replies won’t work, and emails will just bounce back. 

• Suspend the Account

Suspend the user’s account when it’s no longer required. This blocks any unauthorised access and prevents further sign-ins, all while protecting their data so it can still be reviewed and reassigned if needed.

• Schedule Account Deletion

Once all data and communications have been reviewed, schedule the account for deletion in accordance with your internal policies. Delayed deletion provides a window for you to retrieve any missed data before the account is permanently removed.

Following each of these steps will significantly reduce security risks and help ensure business continuity every time an employee offboards from Google Workspace.​

Offboarding Data Security Risks and How to Avoid Them

Some of the most significant data security gaps during offboarding stem from missed actions, such as failing to revoke access to accounts, apps, and devices, or forgetting to transfer ownership of files and calendars before deleting accounts. 

The risks extend beyond what’s in your Google Workspace: files or folders shared with external contacts or left accessible via links may continue to expose confidential data even after an employee is gone. To prevent these issues, always follow a detailed offboarding checklist. 

Integrating offboarding with your HR department ensures users are removed from all SaaS platforms, not just Google Workspace, further closing security gaps. Assigning clear administrative responsibility for each offboarding task helps prevent missed steps too, while automating steps where possible can reduce the risk of human error and strengthen your company’s overall security posture. Creating a Google Apps Script for offboarding or using automation tools like Patronum can be beneficial for managing Google Workspace. 

FAQs for Offboarding Employees in Google Workspace

How soon should I remove access?

Access should be suspended immediately upon any employee leaving an organisation, once offboarding is confirmed. Sometimes, it should be removed even before the official departure date to prevent accidental or malicious data breaches.​

What happens to shared files and folders?

Ownership of shared files and folders should be transferred to an active user before the account is deleted. If files are orphaned, they may become inaccessible or deleted, risking data loss.​

Can I automate user account removal and offboarding?

Yes, Google Workspace supports tools and third-party platforms like Patronum that help IT teams with standardised, automated offboarding steps, requiring minimal manual effort.​

What should I do with calendar events owned by the departing user?

Transfer event ownership to another employee and review shared calendars to ensure meetings and resources aren’t disrupted or left unmanaged.​

How do I handle email forwarding or auto-reply for staff?

Set up an out-of-office message that notifies contacts of the departure and provides a new point of contact. You can also forward emails or delegate mailbox access to a manager for continuity.​

How do I remove device and app access?

Use the Google Admin console to wipe business data from devices and revoke permissions, especially for third-party apps that may still access Google Workspace data.​

What about removing users from multiple Google Groups?

Check for all group memberships, including nested, child, or subgroups, and remove the user from each. This prevents access to shared resources and communication channels.​

Can I recover data from a deleted account?

Data can typically be restored for a limited time after an account is deleted if proper Google Workspace backup solutions are in place. Ideally, ensure all data is transferred or exported before the account is officially deleted to avoid permanent loss.​

Do I need to audit the process after completing offboarding?

Yes, always audit permissions, shared files, group memberships, and device access after offboarding to ensure nothing has been overlooked. Document these checks to demonstrate compliance and readiness for any future incidents or audits.​

Get Google Workspace Support from Damson Cloud 

Proper offboarding is essential for data security, and if you’re unsure about the process, getting some expert assistance can make all the difference. Our team at Damson Cloud provides Google Workspace support, including help with onboarding and offboarding. We can keep your data safe and ensure that other users' accounts aren’t affected by an employee’s departure. 

Take the stress out of Google Workspace management and let our experts support you every step of the way. Get in touch with us for some tailored advice and hands-on technical support. Take a look at our resource videos, blog page or FAQs for professional guidance you can trust. Make your next offboarding process seamless by contacting Damson Cloud today.