Employee handover checklist for small teams

Key takeaways

An employee handover checklist captures what a person does, how they do it and what they have access to, before they leave or take extended leave. In small teams where each person holds several functions, a rushed handover is where knowledge is lost. Start it the day notice is given.

• Start on day 1 of the notice period, not in the last week.
• 7 areas: tasks, processes, contacts, live work, access, files, deadlines.
• 1 week is the statutory minimum notice from an employee after a month's service.
• Have the successor do each task once while the leaver watches.

What is a handover checklist?

A handover checklist is a structured list of everything that must be transferred from one person to another so work continues without interruption. It covers recurring tasks, how they are done, work in progress, relationships and system access.

• The hidden costs of doing everything in-house
• The cost of undocumented processes

What should the checklist cover?

Cover seven areas. The first three are routinely missed because the leaver no longer thinks of them as knowledge.

• Tasks: everything done daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
• Processes: the steps for each, including workarounds.
• Contacts: who to ask, inside and outside the business.
• Live work: status, next step and owner for each open item.
• Access: systems, logins, keys and approvals held.
• Files: where things are stored and how they are named.
• Deadlines: upcoming dates in the next 90 days.

• Sharing passwords at work: the risk and the fix

How much time do you have?

Often less than you think. GOV.UK states that an employee who has worked for a month or more must give at least one week's notice, unless the contract requires more. Contracts in small firms commonly ask for a month. Outstanding holiday can shorten the time actually worked.

• An employee has resigned: replace or outsource?

How do you run a good handover?

Run it as a schedule, not a conversation on the last afternoon.

• Day 1: agree the task list and the successor for each item.
• Week 1: leaver writes or records each process.
• Week 2: successor performs each task, leaver observes.
• Final week: transfer access, tell contacts, clear open items.
• Last day: confirm access is removed and files are located.

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What if there is nobody to hand over to?

If no successor is in place, hand over to documentation and to temporary cover. A manager or a managed team can take the routine tasks from written steps while you recruit. That is far better than leaving the knowledge to walk out.

• The cost of staff turnover for UK small businesses

What gets missed most often?

The items missed are the ones the leaver does without thinking and the ones that happen rarely.

• Quarterly and annual tasks, such as renewals and returns.
• Informal arrangements with customers or suppliers.
• Workarounds for known system faults.
• Accounts registered to the leaver's own email address.
• Who to call when something specific breaks.
• Automatic payments and subscriptions on their card.

How do you capture knowledge quickly?

The fastest method is to have the leaver record their screen while doing each task and talking it through. A ten-minute recording captures detail that would take an hour to write. The successor then writes the steps from the recording, which doubles as their training. Keep recordings and notes in a shared folder named by task.

For relationships, a short introduction email or call with each key contact does more than a list of names.

What does a poor handover cost?

A poor handover costs weeks of reduced output from the successor, time from colleagues answering questions, and the errors made while knowledge is rebuilt. If a successor takes two extra months to reach full speed on a £30,000 role, that is several thousand pounds of salary paid for learning that a proper handover would have shortened. Missed tasks add their own costs on top.

• The cost of staff turnover for UK small businesses

What should the manager do during a handover?

The manager's job is to make time and check progress. Reduce the leaver's normal workload so documentation is possible. Hold a short review each week of the notice period against the seven areas. Make sure the successor has actually performed each task, not just watched. And on the last day, confirm access has been removed and nothing is registered to a personal account.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see repeatedly: the handover meeting happens on the final day and lasts an hour. Three weeks later a quarterly task comes round that nobody knew existed.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Handover checklist

Tick these off before the last day.

• Full task list agreed.
• Each process written and tested.
• Open work reassigned.
• Contacts informed.
• Access transferred and then removed.
• Files located and shared.
• Next 90 days of deadlines listed.

• The hidden cost audit: score your business in an hour

Next step

Tell us who is leaving and what they cover. We will suggest what can be picked up quickly by a managed team in a 30-minute call.