Handover of a Program in 6 Phases

2 min.

If you are leaving a program, you should consider a few things when preparing and handing over the program. Here, a 6-phase approach has proven to be the best for me, which I use again and again.

1. Preparation (as early as possible!)

  • Align with stakeholders
  • Outline Knowledge-Transfer-Plan
  • Agree budget for knowledge transfer period
  • Search for successor and receive okay on specific person from stakeholders
  • Confirm final start date of successor (adapt timeline of knowledge transfer plan)

2. On-boarding (-3 weeks)

  • Successor starts on project as additional source
  • Project assignment to be defined
  • Onboard successor following all regular administration activities as access rights, calendar invites, handover process documentation etc.
  • Introduce successor in newsletter
  • Shadowing (-2 weeks)

3. Shadowing (-2 weeks)

  • Successor is your current stand in if anyhow possible
  • Successor attends all of your meetings too
  • Successor is watching all of your core activities
  • Successor updates and amends joint knowledge transfer plan and ticks off activities

4. Re-Shadowing (-1 week)

  • Show less presence, only attend team meetings but no customer meetings
  • Be there for any help for your successor
  • Be prepared to take over some operational activities
  • Send all still incoming requests / questions to your successor

5. Backup (starts with day of handover)

  • Show less presence, only attend team meetings but no customer meetings
  • Be there for any help for your successor
  • Be prepared to take over some operational activities
  • Send all still incoming requests / questions to your successor

6. Phase Out (+1 week)

  • Process all off-boarding activities for yourself
  • Release Project Assignment
  • Be there to help your successor
  • Do not take any operation tasks anymore
  • Give a farewell party and say good bye in the newsletter.
  • Send all still incoming requests / questions to your successor
  • Leave! (+2 weeks)

Success factors for a proper handover

  • Involve customer and all stakeholder in an early stage.
  • Do not arrange processes program / stream person centric but process / accountable centric.
    • Do not be single point of contact for multiple processes yourself,
    • Instead make each of your team member accountable for one or more processes from the beginning of the engagement (Management by Objective).
  • Plan and prepare your leave as an own project itself.
  • Prepare a knowledge transfer plan which must be agreed by all stakeholders.
    • Break down knowledge transfer in granular activities (1-3 hours).
    • Ask your successor to maintain this plan and tick each closed activity off.
    • Handle this plan and update it like any other project plan.
  • Communicate your leave to whole team latest at beginning of knowledge transfer period.
  • Foresee a backup period after successful knowledge transfer of up to two weeks.
  • Define a clear handover date in knowledge transfer plan.

Have fun in your new project / program!