5 ways to reduce knowledge loss when colleagues leave
With more than a fifth of people looking to change jobs in the next year, delivering confidently on team and organisational missions is tough.
Whether you’re about to leave or you have received a resignation letter from a teammate, planning for transition can be tricky. Managed well it can help the organisation and leaver feel great about their last piece of work. Managed badly, handover be traumatic for the team and make it hard for the new person who will have to fulfil the duties of the role.
Below are 5 tips on how to have the best handover to maximise knowledge and expertise retention
Handover notes Create good handover documentation which is available in different formats (visual, textual, audial etc). Most handover notes tend to be rushed and completed on the last working day which means that much of the value delivered by the leaver is missed. How the role contributes to team achievements, how the leaver maintained relationships and solved problems are key aspects of the duties that need to be fulfilled. Having these clearly documented along with how to resolve issues is key information that the new joiner will need.
Handover period
A better way of ensuring that the new member of the team can perform to the same standard as the departing colleague is to have a period of dual running. To be successful at this requires a quick turnaround in recruitment and onboarding but the value retained is immense. Coupled with a well planned exit interview that thanks the leaver for their contribution, the handover period also enables the leaver to build a relationship with the person taking on their role so that they can be contacted should any issues arise.
Update the role description and expectations
By treating each departure as an opportunity to review the role design, improvements can be made to role descriptions. Spend time with the leaving colleague to understand the work they’ve been doing, what aspects of their role were unique to them and their approach and what things any new people should bear in mind. There may be aspects of the role that were never articulated on the job description which have led to their decision. This will also enable you to learn about who may be a good fit for that person within the organisation although this may not be recommended as it may create a wave of promotion / resource allocation related disruption
Stay in touch
Alumni networks and other ways of staying in touch mean that any important information that may have been instrumental in the role can be accessed (albeit with some delay). By having alumni visit on a half yearly basis for a touch base, it is possible to get their perspective on challenges which their successor is facing.
Spread the knowledge
By having a culture which encourages and rewards knowledge sharing the risks of key knowledge leaving with people is reduced. The key here is to share knowledge beyond functional teams and by having cross functional teams.
The easiest way to prevent the loss of knowledge and expertise is to give people more reasons to stay than to leave. Having a genuine interest in the work that is being done by colleagues, and providing safe and confidential channels for them to share concerns and views on staying vs leaving are essential. Demonstration that their views are being taken on board and acted on can transform a culture where there is high staff turnover. To have better team and knowledge resilience and better knowledge a good place to start is mapping the key knowledge and its relevance and impact on the organisations goals. Maintaining this understanding of knowledge, insight and experience within your teams and the individuals with whom this resides and the value that they bring is key to identifying the best handover plan. This can be hard to do for managers as it takes time, patience and deep thinking, individually and as a team.
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