When it comes to business handover, people might think about procedures like handing over your related work content when resigning, switching roles or going on a long vacation.
But for me, the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear the word handover is “documents.” And my gut tells me that, oh, the business isn’t that complicated, so there’s nothing special to do about handover. Throw the document to the transferee and you're good to go!
Background
I recently went through a long-term and large-scale business handover brought about by strategic adjustment, meaning that the original team was no longer responsible for the related business and this responsibility needed to be fully handed over to a new team, unfamiliar with the business.
The background of this business handover was:
A delivery project team that has been established and operated for 3+ years;
Many business sectors supported;
Due to strategic adjustment, the team needs to hand over all related businesses;
The takeover party isn’t familiar with the business sector.
Based on this, this article mainly focuses on the following three points:
What exactly should be handed over in a business handover?
What are the criteria of a "good" business handover?
How to achieve a "good" business handover?
What exactly should be handed over in a business handover?
Yes, of course, business! However, I personally suggest that it is best to add a time dimension when handing over this "business," that is, including its past, present and future. As for the degree of handover, the scope of coverage, etc., this is determined by the nature of the handover and the actual situation of both you and the receiver. You should tailor it to your own situation.
Trust me, this will help you avoid a lot of "have to" communication once the handover is complete.
Past: historical information
This includes the context (causes and consequences) of the project’s handover, such as the original intention, evolution history, important milestones/key turning points, etc., so that the takeover party can understand its development history and be able to clearly comprehend future key decision points. This way, the core and main context of the project can be traced back to the source, so that the original intention and business knowledge aren’t lost.
The handover of this piece of content is particularly dependent on 2 key elements:
(Core) members who master the trajectory of the project or business;
Daily accumulation of relevant business and decision documents that can be traced by the team, etc.
These two elements also enlighten us from another perspective. Although the current project or business may not need to consider the work handover, when you are doing the current work, you need to consider potential future needs, and summary and filing of relevant content should be done in time. In this way, when the handover comes, it can be done naturally and you get twice the result with half the effort.
Present: current situation
Hand over what the project or business is currently doing, including what is being done, why it is being done, what are the key steps/key points that need attention, which stakeholders are involved, expected project start/end time, etc., so that the takeover party can clearly know what they want to do, and ensure that the current work can be continued and steadily progressed without interruption.
The handover of this piece of content mainly consists of the following 3 key steps:
Tell them how to do it;
Show them how you do it;
Let them do it and provide guidance and answer questions from the side.
In this process, the handover party can provide guidance and answer questions as needed in a "nanny-like" manner, so as to ensure that the takeover party can carry out the relevant work independently. This process may seem trivial, but it is actually the most effective. Regardless of whether you are the handover party or the takeover party, with an altruistic mentality and careful handover, the ultimate beneficiary is actually yourself.
Future: what to do
Things that may be done in the future when the project or business is handed over, including the roadmap that has been clarified before, the actions to be followed up, etc., so that the takeover party can focus on the present, outlook the future, and make relevant preparations in advance to ensure that the planned plan can be followed. Follow up work in an orderly manner without being caught off guard.
The handover of this piece of content is carried out at will (because the team has not necessarily already planned it all out), mainly to remind 2 points:
Go through what has been planned in the Roadmap or Backlog (if any);
Go through the implementation plans or ideas (if any) that the team has designed, etc.
In this process, it is not only to help the takeover party prepare for the future, but also to allow the value that has been produced by the handover party to be used or reflected, rather than buried.
In the next part, we’ll discuss what makes a “good” business handover and how to achieve it.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.
