Property management runs on people, and people come and go. Leasing agents, maintenance coordinators, and accounting staff move between firms, and each change is a moment where IT can either help your team or quietly create risk. A new hire who waits days for logins starts slow. A departed employee who keeps access becomes a security problem. Two simple checklists, used every time, keep both from happening.
Onboarding: getting a new hire ready before day one
The goal is straightforward. When a new person sits down on their first day, everything they need should already be waiting, set up to match their role and nothing beyond it. Aim to finish these steps before the start date.
Accounts and identity
- Create their email account and add them to the right shared mailboxes and distribution lists for their team.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication from the start, not as an afterthought later.
- Create accounts in the property management platform and accounting software with the permission level their role needs.
- Add them to only the shared folders and documents their job requires.
Device and workspace
- Prepare a computer with the standard software your firm uses, updated and protected.
- Set up access to printers, scanners, and the document workflow leasing paperwork depends on.
- Configure phone, voicemail, or softphone if their role takes calls from residents or owners.
- Confirm remote access is in place if they work from properties or in the field.
Orientation
- Walk them through how to spot phishing and fake payment requests, since they will see them.
- Explain your verification routine for any change to payment details before they touch accounting tasks.
- Show them how to reach IT support when something is not working.
Resist the urge to copy an existing employee's access to save time. It is how people quietly accumulate permissions they never needed. Start each new hire with what their job requires and add more only when there is a clear reason.
Offboarding: closing access on the last day
Offboarding is where firms get hurt, because it is easy to forget once someone is gone. The rule is simple: access ends when employment ends. For a planned departure, schedule these steps for the final day. For an unexpected exit, do them immediately.
Cut access first
- Disable their email and force a sign out of all active sessions.
- Remove their accounts in the property management platform and accounting software, with extra attention to anything that can move money.
- Revoke remote access and any saved logins on shared devices.
- Change shared passwords the person knew, rather than assuming they will not be used.
Preserve and redirect
- Keep their mailbox and files rather than deleting them, so records and history are not lost.
- Forward their email or set an auto reply so residents and owners reach the right person.
- Reassign ownership of shared documents, calendars, and any recurring tasks they handled.
- Collect company devices and wipe or reset them before reuse.
The dangerous window is between someone's last day and the moment their access is removed. For any departure that is sudden or sensitive, treat access removal as the first action, then handle the file and mailbox cleanup afterward.
Make the checklist the standard, not the exception
The firms that handle this well do not rely on memory. They have a written routine that HR or an office manager kicks off the moment a hire or departure is confirmed, and IT follows the same steps every time. That consistency is what keeps a busy week from turning into a forgotten account with access to resident data and owner funds.
If you want help turning these checklists into a repeatable process for your firm, including the account setup, access levels, and device handling behind them, we are glad to help you put it in place.