An employee leaves. Their replacement can open the team's SharePoint library but cannot find documents previously shared from the departing employee's OneDrive. Nothing about that problem is solved simply by changing an email forwarding rule.
The important distinction is where the files are stored and how access is granted. A work OneDrive is associated with a user account. A SharePoint library provides a shared location for team content. Neither arrangement eliminates the need for deliberate permissions and records management.
A handover is a process, not a checkbox
Blue Tree Technology® support records document staff moving former-employee OneDrive content into SharePoint. One record says most files were moved; another documents a licensing step before the transfer. Those details matter: they do not establish that every file transfers automatically, or that every environment follows the same licensing process.
Microsoft provides administrators with procedures to access, preserve, and delegate a former employee's data. The available options depend on account status, permissions, tenant configuration, and retention. [1]
Decide what belongs in a team location
For ongoing client work, ask whether documents belong in a team-controlled library rather than remaining dependent on one person's sharing links. Personal working drafts and team records may have different needs, but the business should know which is which.
For example, a department may agree that final project documents belong in its SharePoint library while employees use their work OneDrive for individual drafts. That is an illustrative operating practice, not a statement about legal ownership or a universal Microsoft requirement.
Use a deliberate departure checklist
Identify important folders, shared links, client records, and files referenced by Teams or business workflows. Obtain authorization for who may inspect or receive the content; a manager's convenience does not justify unrestricted access to everything.
Next, decide what to retain and where it will live. Test a representative transfer, check that the intended recipients can open the files, and verify whether version history, metadata, and existing links survive the method being used. Microsoft's former-employee guidance warns that the described move/copy procedure may transfer only the latest version. [1]
Disable the departing employee's sign-in on the approved termination schedule; do not wait for a file transfer to finish. Separately, do not delete the account or change licensing before IT confirms the retention rules and preservation needs. Legal holds and records policies require review.
Confirm the work is complete
Ask the receiving employee to open important documents, not merely confirm that a folder exists. Record outstanding exceptions, remove temporary administrative access when appropriate, and check that the new location is included in the intended protection plan.
Moving files is not the same as establishing a backup, and leaving an account accessible indefinitely is not a handover strategy.
Blue Tree Technology® can help coordinate file continuity with your onboarding and offboarding process so business records remain usable without leaving unnecessary access behind.
Verification links
[1] Microsoft: Give another employee access to OneDrive and Outlook data