When too much business knowledge sits with one employee, even everyday tasks can become difficult when they’re away. This article looks at how to spot those gaps, why written procedures aren’t always enough and how a proper handover can help keep your business running smoothly.
Most businesses have that one person everyone turns to. The employee who knows how things work, remembers why the business made certain decisions and can usually sort out a problem when nobody else can. Their experience is valuable. But relying on that experience can become a problem when nobody else knows how to step in. We’ve seen how much a business can rely on one person’s knowledge.
One of our clients had an employee who managed payroll, but when she resigned, they needed time to find a replacement. Their accountant had handled payroll in the past and was able to step in, but some of the smaller details had changed over time. Staff had to wait for answers to questions about leave and other payroll matters, which created frustration and uncertainty in the office.
It’s the kind of gap that can go unnoticed until someone takes leave, calls in sick or resigns.
When you’re busy running a business, it’s easy to overlook just how much you rely on certain people. So it’s worth asking:
What would stop moving if your most experienced employee wasn’t there tomorrow?
1. When Everyone Relies on the Same Person
Over time, experienced employees often build up knowledge that goes well beyond their job description. They know the business well, remember how things have been handled in the past and become the person everyone relies on for things like:
- Approving unusual customer requests or supplier arrangements.
- Sorting out recurring system problems.
- Preparing reports that nobody else quite understands.
- Remembering why certain decisions were made or how particular clients like things done.
They’re good at what they do, they’re happy to help, and before long everyone gets used to asking them.
The problem only becomes obvious when they’re not there. You find that decisions are waiting, questions go unanswered and routine work starts piling up.
It’s worth thinking about who your team turns to whenever something isn’t straightforward. If the answer is nearly always the same person, there’s probably some knowledge that needs to be shared.
2. Written Down Doesn’t Mean Workable
You might have procedures saved in a shared drive, with everything looking organised and ready for someone else to take over. But it’s not until another employee tries to follow those instructions that you find out what’s missing.
The person who usually does the job has knowledge that doesn’t always make it into the written procedures. They know where to find certain information, what to do when something doesn’t go to plan and who to ask when a decision needs approval, but someone covering the job might not know any of that.
The easiest way to find those gaps is to let someone else have a go while the experienced employee is still around to help. Can they find what they need and work through the task without being talked through every step? Do they know what to do if something unexpected comes up?
You’ll soon see where the knowledge gaps are and what needs adding to the instructions. It’s much easier to sort that out while there’s someone available to help than when a deadline is looming and the person who knows the answers is away.
3. Share the Responsibilities That Matter Most
You don’t need to teach someone everything your most experienced employee knows. Start with the jobs that would cause the biggest headaches if they couldn’t get done.
It might be preparing a regular report, sorting out a recurring system problem or handling a customer request that needs special approval. Think about who else could take these on and give them a chance to learn through a handover while the experienced employee is available.
Some tasks will be easier to hand over than others. If a job involves making judgement calls, using unfamiliar systems or dealing with long-standing customer arrangements, the person stepping in will probably need more time and guidance.
What matters is that they can handle the usual work, recognise when something needs approval and know who to ask if they get stuck.
It also takes some pressure off your experienced employees. They can enjoy their leave without being contacted about every little problem, and they’re less likely to return to a pile of work that nobody else could handle.
4. Make Time for a Proper Handover
It’s easy to assume someone can explain how they do their job in a quick conversation, but when they’ve been handling something for years, there’s often more involved than anyone realises.
If they’re already busy, finding time to show someone else what to do can easily slip down the priority list.
We had a client who’d known for six months that an employee was taking long service leave. A team member was lined up to cover the role, but the team still hadn’t done the handover by the time the leave was just around the corner.
Suddenly, the leave was just around the corner and the handover still hadn’t happened. What could have been done gradually over several months became a last-minute rush. In the end, they brought in a temporary employee to help with the team’s day-to-day workload, freeing up time for the two employees to complete the handover before the leave started.
Give both employees time to share their knowledge and work through the handover together. That might mean setting aside time to go through a process, answer questions or adjust other work so the person learning can practise without being rushed.
What to Cover in a Handover
For each important responsibility, make sure the handover covers:
- What’s involved: What needs to be done, how often and when it needs to be finished.
- Where to start: How to access the instructions, records, systems and information needed to complete the work.
- Making decisions: What the person covering can decide for themselves and what needs someone else’s approval.
- When things don’t go to plan: How to handle common problems, unusual situations or anything that falls outside the normal process.
- Who can help: Who to contact if they’re unsure about something or come across a problem they can’t resolve.
- Practice run: Give them a chance to complete the task themselves, with support.
Don’t wait until someone has booked leave to start sharing this knowledge. A planned holiday gives you time to prepare, but an unexpected resignation or absence might not.
Making handovers part of how your team normally works means you’re not trying to explain everything at the last minute.
5. Next Steps: Find Your Three Bottlenecks
A good place to start is by looking at three things in your business that would come to a standstill if the person who normally handles them was unavailable.
For each one, ask:
- Who normally looks after this?
- Is there someone else who could step in?
- What would they need to know or learn first?
- Are there any tricky situations or decisions they wouldn’t know how to handle?
- How can they practise the task before they need to step in?
You don’t need to fix everything at once. Finding time for handovers isn’t always easy when everyone already has a full workload. Sometimes bringing in a temporary employee can give your team breathing space. They might help document procedures, take care of day-to-day work or cover another role while your existing employees spend time learning from each other.
If an extra pair of hands would make that easier, Recruitment Central can help you find temporary staff to keep things moving while your team gets up to speed.
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