Requester and Recipient Offboarding (10.04.21)

Open Items and Outgoing Employees 

There can be a lot to think about when you or someone in your department is leaving their position.  One important thing to consider is what will happen to the departing person’s open items in Shop OnLion.  Because of the security controls in place in SIMBA, generally only the person who created the document has access to that document to make or request changes or follow-on documents (e.g., a Goods Confirmation on a PO).  That is why it is so important to think about Shop OnLion documents and their final disposition as part of your offboarding plan. 

Best practices to incorporate into your offboarding process may include developing an inventory of Shop OnLion documents (shopping carts, POs, Goods Confirmations, etc.) that are actively being used (e.g., shopping cart still in approval path or PO with outstanding encumbrances), identifying who is responsible for those documents going forward and initiating the appropriate change procedures, and seeking out another person in the office to begin processing orders as soon as it is known that the person is leaving.   

It may be helpful to set up procurement substitutions and team shopping in a department when staff is in flux (see Resource item #2 below).  Procurement substitutes can complete a goods confirmation if the shopping cart is marked as a team cart without having to go through additional steps to change the Requester and/or Recipient on those carts. 

Dos and Don’ts for Offboarding 

DO create procurement substitutes and use team shopping to help manage Shop OnLion documents during the employee transition. 
DO work Shop OnLion items into your official offboarding documentation and processes. 
DO make sure that you have identified all your open items (Shopping Carts, POs, Goods Confirmations, etc.) and assigned an updated Requester or Recipient as necessary (particularly for items that have not been done via team shopping). 
DO make sure the newly identified Requester or Recipient is aware of the items they will need to process. 
DO NOT continue to place shopping carts up until the last day of work unless you are taking appropriate steps to identify a replacement Requester or Recipient (e.g., via Team Shopping). 
DO NOT wait until the employee has left their position to resolve Shop OnLion issues and update Requester/Recipient names – it may be difficult for changes to be made once that employee has left. 

Resources 

  1. To Change the Requester / Recipient on a PO – reach out to the Purchasing Agent or Assistant listed on that PO via email.  They will be able to make the change for you.  The Purchasing staff directory can be found here.
  2. Procurement Substitution hands on guide.