Employee offboarding: a Google Drive handover checklist

A Google Drive offboarding checklist should identify business files, establish ownership and test the incoming employee's access before the departing account is retired. Shared drives help keep team documents under organizational control. Sharing a folder in My Drive does not turn it into a Shared drive.

Why a shared folder still needs a handover

Google's documentation explains that Shared drive files belong to the organization and remain when a member leaves. My Drive uses a different ownership model. Check where documents actually live, rather than relying on the list of people who can open them.

Consider a hypothetical sales team: an account manager keeps quotations in My Drive and shares a folder with colleagues. The sales director can see it, but that alone does not establish that the business has completed a durable handover.

Five steps before retiring an account

1. Inventory by business process. List quotations, agreements, trackers and project documents. Record the URL, owner, storage location and incoming custodian. Include forms, attachments and links that colleagues actively use.
2. Classify ownership. Separate organizational files, externally owned material and personal data. Customer-owned documents require an access arrangement with their owner; not everything visible to an employee can be transferred.
3. Choose a suitable handover method. Move team material to a Shared drive where the edition, permissions and file type allow it. Ask an administrator to assess ownership transfer or retention for exceptions. Test a small set before moving many files.
4. Test as the recipient. Open existing links and confirm the required read, edit or download actions. Test external collaborators separately. A permissions list is not proof that the real workflow still works.
5. Sign off and revoke access. Have the business owner accept the inventory. IT should handle the departing account, groups and sharing permissions through the offboarding procedure, recording unresolved exceptions.

Grant the access the role needs

Google distinguishes Manager, Content manager, Contributor, Commenter and Viewer. Use the Shared drive permissions table to match access to actual work. Someone who only reads documents does not need authority to manage members.

Keep a usable handover record

• Document URL and storage location after handover.
• Incoming custodian, required permissions and test result.
• Exceptions, including external files and broken links.
• Sign-off date and the person responsible for outstanding work.

Frequently asked questions

Is sharing a My Drive folder enough?

No. Access and ownership are different. Review each set of files and confirm that the recipient can perform the necessary work.

Do Shared drives replace backups?

Shared storage should not be the entire recovery plan. Define retention, backup and restore testing for important business data.

Where should a small business start?

Pilot the checklist with one department before the next staff change. Count broken links and documents without an incoming custodian to identify unfinished work.

Need help reviewing your company's Drive structure? Explore Google Workspace services from Viet Nis or request a consultation. Include your user count, current storage setup and handover date. Call +84 888 728 730.