How to do a proper handover and transition at work

People exiting an organisation is a common occurrence in every business. There are plenty of reasons why staff members leave the company. Whatever is the circumstance behind an employee departing, the changing of employees is something that every entrepreneur should prepare for to ensure that there are no gaps in-between periods of a team member leaving and a new one coming in.

A common scenario is to secure a short overlap of time where new and old staff can work together. However there are many times when the outgoing staff member has already ended their service while the incoming person has not yet begun working in the company. Whichever circumstance you have in your business, it is best to assign a person, such as an HR staff or team leader or office manager, to oversee that proper turnover is done by the exiting employee.

Below are a few pointers to facilitate a smooth transition of work so that nothing is left unattended when someone leaves your team.

Have a turnover meeting

It may take a single meeting with the outgoing staff member or a series of meetings to discuss the transition and handing over of tasks. Let the employee give you an overview of the day-to-day activities of the position the person is holding, incomplete tasks, and other pertinent information you may need to continue where the member has left off. If a new person is already reporting, sit together with both of them so that you can all discuss pending matters that the departing person will be leaving behind as well as orient the incoming employee about the role.

Create a turnover document

Prepare a checklist of things you need from the employee so that it’s easier to navigate through the tasks once the position is left vacant. The document includes the list of files being handed over, unfinished tasks or unfulfilled responsibilities, and the contact details of clients, suppliers and other stakeholders they normally deal with while working in the organisation. If the person is handling social media accounts and online access on behalf of the company, get the account information and passwords. The document becomes a reference for you and the one who will be filling in the role.

Check physical and digital files being left behind

Don’t just simply receive the files handed over to you. Review them and familiarise with them, especially with contracts and important documents. For the soft files, understand how they are organised so it’s easy for you to look for them in the future. Verify the list of files given to you and check thoroughly in case something is missing or forgotten.

Get introduced to accounts, clients or contacts the person is handling

In positions where the employee has several external contacts or dealings with, such as in sales and marketing, be sure to get the directory of these accounts. Set a timeline where the outgoing team member introduces you or the new person to people they regularly come in contact with during their tenure in your company.

Set a period to shadow the outgoing employee

Sitting down one time or having a single meeting before the employee leaves may not be enough to fully cover the gaps. If a new person has begun reporting, let that person shadow the outgoing employee as part of the new staff training and orientation. Otherwise, if there’s still no one to take the place of that team member assign someone who will shadow the person or document the day-to-day tasks and activities properly to have a smooth onboarding process when the new person comes in.

Generally, it is easier and more cost efficient to retain good people because hiring a new one takes a lot of effort and energy. However, since it cannot be avoided that people will leave an organisation, better be prepared for this eventuality by setting up a system that will make handing over of tasks seamless that will ensure the continuity of tasks.

Mentoring your team effectively

Business growth is not only measured by the increase in sales and profit but also on how the organisation develops and improves. Human resource development allows you to shape the people within your organisation and let your venture grow and thrive.

Whether there is a newbie in your team, someone up for promotion, a member being honed for succession or only a skeleton staff is working and you have to deal with a lean organisation, training a team member is part of your human resource development. One form of training is by mentoring, which is teaching new skills, adding knowledge and guiding the person-in-training.

It can be done formally and informally, as mentorship can also be part of your corporate culture. However, if you have a goal in mind and to make sure that your mentorship is effective, there must be a certain framework where the mentor and mentee can refer to as they go through the process. You or your HR may outline the things needed for mentoring, such as the activities we have listed below.

Do a skills review

Before you plan out how you will conduct your mentoring, do first a skills review so that you can identify the strengths and weaknesses that the person can work on as well as where the skills set can fit in your organisation. What are the competencies that need to be built up? What talents and capabilities that must be instilled in the mentee?

Set clear objectives and accountabilities

Once you have identified the skills that can be enhanced and those that still need to be developed, design the objectives and measurable goals of your mentoring. Draw up an action plan and specify who is accountable for which. Stipulate how you will achieve your goals and how to evaluate if the mentoring is indeed successful.

Build a good mentor-mentee relationship

As much as you have a goal in mind, don’t forget to put importance on the whole process and the relationship. As tennis player Arthur Ashe once said, “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is more important than the outcome.”

Trust is a good foundation to make the mentorship a fruitful one. Mentors must exercise patience and provide motivation and inspiration to the mentee. On the other hand, the mentee must be open to correction and learning so that the lessons that the entire experience can bring will be ingrained deeply to one’s frame of mind.

Delegate and assign tasks

Experience, as they say, is the best teacher. The best way to mentor someone is to allow them to be immersed in various situations where they can exercise good judgment and resourcefulness. Delegate tasks that the person can work on. Don’t spoon-feed. Rather, be a guide and allow room for the person to do things based on his abilities and work style.

Monitor and evaluate

Have a regular huddle or avenue where you can assess the short-term goals of your mentoring. By monitoring the progress of the process, you will be able to define the areas where you need to work on the most to achieve the objectives you have set for this mentorship.

Mentoring is a way of sharing knowledge and building expertise among your people. As your team develops, your business will also grow. Even when you have a lean organisation, if you have quality people, it will keep your venture going. Moreover, looking after the improvement of your staff also boosts their morale and strengthens your relationship with each other. But as you mentor your people, it is also best that you also look after your professional growth. Have someone mentor you as well so that you keep on increasing, expanding and improving your skills set and experience as an entrepreneur.

Letting go of employees

Certain circumstances may cause you to rethink your current organisational line-up and let go of some people in your team. Staff members performing poorly at work, acquisition or merger that may result in redundancy or financial difficulties or disasters that force businesses to downsize. Firing an employee is not always easy and may sometimes be unpleasant.

However, business owners have to face the situation and deal with the difficulties for the good of the company and the people who will remain in your organisation. How do you go about letting go of an employee?  

Check the laws and confer with your HR

Consult with a legal expert or refer to your local labour laws to avoid complications and ensure that everything is done appropriately. If you have a Human Resource department, empower your HR team and let them take the needed actions. Make sure that you process everything by the book.

Review the documents and assess the situation

You need to have a basis for why you need to release someone from his position or spot in your organisational structure. Make a decision that is backed up by data, so make sure that proper documentation is in place.

Plan the transition process

Before you start the ball rolling, plan out how to go about with the process. Do you need to issue a warning first? If the option is clear to fire the employee, have a checklist of what needs to be done and the crucial steps that must be taken to ensure a smooth transition of tasks and responsibilities. Include in your plan on how to avoid or lessen the negative impact of your decision on the business and the team.

Talk privately with the employee

The person concerned may not be able to fully grasp why you have to let him go. To prevent hostile scenarios, speak with the employee in private. Stay on the course and be direct without being antagonistic. There’s no need to sugarcoat things as well, but be diplomatic when you have to explain the whole picture and lay down the next steps.

Carry out changes and adjustments

The next step is to secure your company’s assets and information, which has to be explained thoroughly to the employee leaving your organisation. Also, you need to have alternatives when the position is left vacant to ensure that there is no void in the work you render to your clients and customers. Discuss with your other team members on the next steps to be taken as the employee turns over his responsibilities to the remaining staff.

It is often a sensitive issue to let go of an employee, regardless of the circumstance. The last thing you want is for emotions to run high. Don’t let tension take control of the situation. If a third-party or a consultant is needed to manage this scenario, tap into the expertise of those who the capability to do this. Don’t drag the situation too long and don’t delay the process. Settle things peacefully, learn from the experience and move forward to other important matters in your business.

Shaping your corporate culture

Corporate culture is an important facet in the success and longevity of a company. Similarly, if a corporate culture incites undesirable behaviours within its people, it may lead to the downfall of an organisation.

Culture is not something that is built overnight. It develops over time until it becomes a standard and comfort zone of a set of people. When it is ingrained deeply in their minds and conduct, it becomes an accepted norm. On the other hand, the wrong values or culture that become a regular practice in your organisation will be difficult to undo and change to how you want it to be.

Hence, it is vital that an entrepreneur shapes the corporate culture of his company in the onset. However, not all business owners may have this in mind when everything is just starting to roll, especially for those who spend the initial stage doing all the roles by themselves and employed people only a few years later. Before they know it, the establishment has grown and people have become absorbed to a particular mindset, psyche, belief, language, behaviour and interaction that may dictate to how things are perceived and done in the organisational space.

If you want your company to adapt to a particular corporate culture, there are a few things you need to do to shape it according to how you want it to be. It may yield far longer than you have anticipated, so you have to exercise patience, persistence and consistency to achieve the desired results.

1.       Determine the values you want to inculcate

Envision the kind of workplace and interaction you want to attain within your business. From that, identify the values that you want your company, brand and employees to have. You may want your business to be attributed as a fast, efficient and reliable one. It could be that you prefer a family-type of environment among your staff and with your clients. You may want to hype creativity within your group that others will associate you for your out-of-the-box ideas. Whatever it is, your vision of your work environment is essential in carrying out the specific tasks to introduce and build a particular culture in your organisation.

2.       Include in the policies

The good thing about being an entrepreneur as compared to working as an employee in a huge company is that you have a hand on how the work culture would be within your business. To reinforce your aim and turn your ideas into action, you will often need to put it into policy. For example, if you want punctuality as a culture within your venture, then you need to have HR guidelines on work hours, turn around time and activity timelines.

3.       Communicate and listen to your team

For you to be successful in shaping corporate culture, there has to be a buy-in from your staff and stakeholders. Keep mentioning about the kind of work environment you’d like to have during meetings whenever you give a pep talk to your team until it has become ingrained in their thoughts. Include this as an agenda in your regular huddles. Create an atmosphere of suggestion where your team can openly share their thoughts on the culture. If everyone agrees to it, emphasise it through reminders on your bulletin boards or in your various communication channels. You can introduce a culture or policy through a teambuilding activity, where you can hire a consultant to help you convey to your team the culture you have in mind.

4.       Hire according to the culture fit and skills set

The challenge often is when a new person comes in and it disrupts the current culture of the team. When hiring a new staff member, look into the candidate’s culture fit as much as you review the credentials and skills set that they may bring to the table. Once you have successfully selected the right person for the position, make sure to orient the new hire about your corporate culture to avoid misunderstanding or possible conflict in the future. They must know what they’re getting into and be committed to abiding by the rules and culture of your business.

5.       Validate right behaviour with rewards

To fortify actions that contribute to the corporate culture you want to build, validate them through a rewards system. As in the example above, if punctuality is something you want to be part of your culture, then include an award for employees who come to work early or do things without delay. When employees develop a good feeling towards something they have done, they will tend to continue with it or improve on it.

6.       Lead by example

The best way to entrench in the consciousness of your team about the kind of culture you want to have in your workplace is to live by example. Whatever they hear from you or read in employee manuals will be substantiated by your action. You cannot stress punctuality if you come late to work. Otherwise, it will cause some cracks in your organisation because people will no longer take your word seriously.

If you don’t know where or how to start shaping your corporate culture, seek counsel from a mentor or someone who has done it before. Remember that culture involves people and people are dynamic. Thus, culture may evolve or it may come out differently as to how you imagined it to be.

Stay focused on your vision, mission and values, which are the foundation of your corporate culture, and set your directions based on that. Conduct self-reflection and evaluate your work environment regularly. A positive and encouraging culture can bring happiness to you and your entire team, which can lead to a motivated staff that works with you in achieving your goals.

The importance of succession planning in business

It takes a lot of effort to plan, prepare, start, manage, sustain and grow a business. However, most ventures revolve around the business owner. If the entrepreneur does not have any business partner or family members involved and when unexpected things happen on the owner without any backup plan in place, all those hard work may go down the drain.

To ensure the continuity and growth of the business, especially when one wants to, later on, be on the business rather than be in it, putting together a succession plan won’t hurt and may even be beneficial to the entrepreneur. Having one doesn’t necessarily mean that you are leaving the business. Instead, it can help you focus on more important roles rather than taking on several responsibilities.

Ensures continuity and assures stakeholders

Creating a succession plan is a way of securing the continuity and future of your business. Whether you want to take on a different role, expand the business, start new ones or retire from the company, it will assure your investors, board, staff and clients that the company will continue to operate and carry on the vision and legacy it wants to create. It guarantees your stakeholders that there will be no void in the organisation should anything inevitable may happen to you or the business.

Motivates current employees and hones prospective leaders

Succession planning is usually done through internal movements in the organisation. Going that route can encourage your current employees to perform well in the hope that they will someday take on a higher position, which can be one of the positions you hold. You can evaluate members of your team who has the potential to take on bigger responsibilities. It will also hone prospective leaders within your team as you equip them with skills and qualities that are needed to fill in a leadership role in the business.

Fills in the gaps

When you put a succession plan in place, you may be able certain gaps in the organisation that you might not have seen before. It allows you to see things from a different perspective and gives you room to address what you may have missed before. When you look at possible candidates for an important post in your business, you tend to step back and look at things from a bird’s eye view and then you zoom in to the details, giving you the opportunity to think ahead of possible problems and come up with solutions or alternatives.

Provides opportunity for personal and business growth

Although most business leaders come up with a succession plan during the times when they intend to leave the organisation, it is not always the case. You may want to take on a board role rather than handling the day-to-day operations of your business. There may be instances when you want to start new businesses while maintaining the current one. Whatever circumstance you may have as a business owner, having a succession plan gives you more room to grow as an entrepreneur and expand your business.

If this is something that you are wanting to do in the future, it is good to discuss this with your HR and board so you can put a proper structure and system in place to get a succession plan going. But even before you draft a blueprint of your plan, you can first seek advice from mentors or other entrepreneurs who have done it before. Also, know the repercussions that may come with having that plan in your current setup. Nonetheless, it’s something you might have to face later on along your entrepreneurial journey.

The role of middle management in an organisation

For a lack of a better term, middle management is the level in a corporate structure that bridges the senior executives and the junior ranks. While most startups may have a leaner configuration of staff members and flatter organisational chart, those that expand and increase their people may see the need to manage and put an order in their teams through units and layers.

Not many may subscribe to the school of thought of putting a tier between upper management and low-ranking associates. However, there are those who see the difference between supervising 5 to 10 people from overseeing 30 or more members. For those who are contemplating hiring managers to streamline functions and improve corporate performance, it’s time to take a closer look at the role middle managers should portray within an organisation.

Team leaders

As industries and the workforce evolve and develop through changing times, middle managers are more empowered to create, conceptualise and make decisions for the good of the organisation. Gone are the days when they are perceived only as a go-between that accepts and carries out directives from the higher-ups. Entrepreneurs can stay on top of their business if they have self-sufficient managers that can help them realise their vision and bring the entire team towards the goal.

Managers provide directions, cascade the corporate thrust, and pay attention to details, which may be too burdensome for the business owner if it were a flat organisational structure. Delegate your role to leaders who can uphold your aspirations and improve productivity. Such leaders can help correct errors, fill in gaps and tighten loose ends, which may occupy so much time and energy of business owners.

Relationship builders

Middle managers have closer interaction with frontline employees, which make their role as relationship builders crucial to the business. They have to be effective in communicating the vision and mission of the enterprise and translating the corporate culture to the day-to-day operations and activities of their team. Building cooperation and mutual trust between and among the senior management and the rank and file is one of the competencies managers should have that is significant to the growth and success of the company.

Accelerators and motivators

The advantage of having a middle management level in an organisation is that it loosens the bottleneck and ensures swift action to get things done. They have to be quick in solving problems and putting out fires, boosting the morale of the team, listening to the ideas and feedback of members, and accelerating growth to bring the venture closer to its destination at the shortest time possible. Managers provide the needed energy and force to thrust the business forward as they encourage their people and inspire them to carry out their functions effectively.

Strategists

One of the capabilities that middle managers should possess is breaking long-term goals to short-term targets and turning plans into actionable items using strategies that yield positive results. They know how to navigate through a situation, mapping out methods even with limited resources. Having efficient managers can help you put together pieces of the puzzle in a most creative way as they imbibe your vision and employ tactics to achieve it.

Probably, you may be in a situation where there is still no need to put a middle manager for now. If you get to the point where you have to fill this position in your structure, be sure to revisit the qualities and roles that your manager should uphold in your organisation.

The vital aspect of making middle management an effective tool for human resource and employee engagement is finding the best candidate that suits the role. A person who embodies the right corporate culture, ethics, values and skills will be beneficial to your business. The middle management tier will only work if you have the perfect person for the job who will aid you in bringing your venture and the whole team towards your goals.

The advantages of an employee performance appraisal

There are costs and benefits in implementing an employee performance appraisal in an organisation. It requires energy, time and resources to conduct it annually. If the execution is off-tangent, it can even leave a negative impact on the team. On the other hand, an effective appraisal system can boost the morale of your people.

Experts have come up with different methods in conducting performance appraisal. Performance management has developed and continues to evolve as different tools, templates and processes are created to suit varying corporate environments. The best way is to hire a professional who can handle your human resources or get a consultant that can manage the evaluation process of your company efficiently. The important part is not to lose focus on the objectives of the performance appraisal.

A lean organisation might not see the immediate need for an employee performance evaluation as you can easily gauge the performance of your staff. However, companies that are growing will find it useful in the long run, putting an order in the movement of people within the establishment.

Establishing good relations with staff

Companies conduct an evaluation of employees with the intent of reviewing their output and fit in the corporate environment. But it is also an avenue for management to strengthen relations with staff members. Employees can take this opportunity to openly express themselves and communicate their opinion and insights, especially in a one-on-one setting. This way, trust is established within your business.

Alignment of company goals with individual members

Employee appraisals provide the management with a platform to reiterate the company’s vision as they can review employee performances’ alignment with the overall goals. Your staff may be delivering good results, but if they are not in harmony with the company goals, they need to be re-directed to the objectives of the business.

Rewarding good performers

There’s a threshold of positive outcomes from good performers if they are not rewarded or commended. It can dishearten or burden them, thinking that their actions are not getting the right attention they deserve. Recognising their efforts through a promotion or upgrade will encourage them to continue with their admirable work and even strive to excel and be better. It’s difficult to keep good people, so an appraisal can be a tool to maintain them in your team.

Motivating dispirited team members

Problem employees are part of the reality of an entrepreneur. It’s not always the case, but when it happens, there are ways to deal with it. During the evaluation process, you can discuss sensitive topics like this and agree on a win-win solution for both the company and the staff. Sometimes, letting go is the most viable option, but you have to set a period where the employee can still improve himself or for the company to determine if he has the right fit.

Planning employee’s career development

Generally, the appraisal can be a basis on how to plot the development of your people within the organisation. You can do more than just giving feedback because you can also take this chance for coaching and mentoring.

You can review your performance management system regularly to check if it still serves your purpose or if it’s time to look into other systems available. The employee performance appraisal should be a tool to help your business forward, not a hindrance that will hamper your operations.

Forming and keeping the right team for your business

Having the best team for your company is one of the major factors of success that enables you to achieve your business goals. On the other hand, the opposite of this, such as getting the wrong people on your team, has always been cited as one of the biggest challenges and disappointments of business owners. In short, the right set of people plays an important role in bringing your venture to its peak.

The first step is to select the people who will fit in your team, depending on your needs and preferences. However, you can only determine such over a period when you will see the dynamics of the members among each other and to the whole group. Once you have a good set of staff, you need to find ways to nurture them and retain them in your team.

Finding the right fit

The selection process should be able to capture the background of the candidate, including his or her attitude, work ethics and values. You have to ascertain how his personality and skills will be able to complement your company and blend with your current staff members.

Culture and Attitude

Before you start the recruitment, define first your corporate culture and match the attitude you are looking for in an applicant that would fit your work environment. What are the qualities and values of a team member that you want to have in your organisation? It is best to have several face-to-face sessions with your applicants during recruitment so that you can observe how they react and behave and how that will blend in your work culture.

Organisation needs and Skills

How an employee fits your corporate culture matters most. But it is also important that they have the right skills set for their roles in the organisation. If they don’t have the expertise you need, they can at least learn fast and hone the skills needed for the job. Identify those skills in the job description so that you can filter the applicants according to your requirements.

Benefits and Expectations

When you have identified the qualifications you prefer in a candidate, come up with a competitive remuneration package that will attract such a candidate. Know their expectations while you also lay down what you require and can offer for the job.

Nurturing those who fit

Getting the right people on your team is just the first hurdle. The more challenging part is retaining them in your business. Changes occur that may affect their length of stay or tenure. There are internal and external factors that can disrupt the status quo and shake the team you have formed. Business owners come up with initiatives to strengthen its human resources.

Employee Engagement

One way to sustain the interest of your people in your business, you have to engage them and create open communication lines. It also includes providing activities that can help channel their various talents and interests that can benefit them and your organisation.

Recognition

Recognising the contribution of your team members will boost their morale. You can bestow the recognition formally or informally, as long as you let them know that you appreciate their efforts. Come up with a reward system to motivate them to keep giving their best.

Growth and Development

It is but natural for staff members to look for growth in any given environment. Enhance their skills and allow them to experience and learn new things within your organisation. Provide workshops and training and learning activities that could improve their personality and enable them to attain a holistic development.

Most of all, it is good to establish good relationships with your team. The achievements of your business are not due to one person alone. Even if you have a star player in your team, it is the support of every member of the group that can help you make a score and achieve your goals.