If an employee is leaving your firm on a temporary or permanent basis, you must ensure they hand over their workload with clear instructions. Without this process you risk disrupting other staff and key tasks being forgotten. When one of your employees is taking parental leave, going on holiday or moving on to a new job, you need to ensure their replacement or stand-in is briefed on all their tasks. By ensuring any handovers run smoothly, you can maintain the same work rate and help any new employees settle in quickly.
Carry out a structured
handover
A long-term handover should include both a face-to-face
conversation and a written document. Make sure it covers a description of the
employee's tasks and processes, unique knowledge, project deadlines, key
contacts, any ongoing issues, and details of log-ins, passwords or where keys
are kept.
The handover should be structured, take at least half a
day and include all the employee's day-to-day tasks. There should also be a written note, with
specific instructions about systems or projects, and useful contact numbers.
However, any detailed training should be saved for the induction. The format of
handovers will vary depending on the position, but the incoming employee should
spend at least a couple of hours with the staff member who is leaving. If it's
a key role, it might even be worthwhile bringing the new employee in early for
work shadowing.
Short-term replacements don't need to be provided with
such detailed handovers. A half-hour meeting, followed up by an email outlining
the essential tasks, should be enough.
Manage your staff handover process
Although it is not necessary to have a formal handover
policy, it is crucial that the outgoing employee knows what is expected. There
is no statutory requirement to have handovers, but employers could consider
writing a one-page guide. It makes business sense to tell staff you need them
to do a handover. Make sure the employee starts preparing the handover soon
after they hand in their notice or announce their leave. If an employee leaves
without conducting a handover, you can use the induction period instead to
ensure the new employee has been fully briefed on their responsibilities. The
employee doing the handover should have explained their role, but in the
induction you can ensure the new person is clear about what is involved. This
is also the time to let them know if there is anything you would like them to
do differently from the previous employee.
#rahulinvision
Comments