Pass On with Care: How to Hand Over Your Work Before You Quit or Go on Holiday

It can be sad when you (or your colleague) go on vacation or quit a job and after that the workflow is interrupted, processes are interwoven and twisted, and communication leads to misunderstandings and mistakes. ‘Oops! I did it again’ and a total mess begins.

As such, the person who goes on vacation ideally organizes all his work in such a way that those who stay at work do not get lost in the chaos.

Here is a universal checklist for handing over work that perfectly suits just about anyone.

When you go on vacation 😎

1. Create a document (in Google Docs, for example) and list all the tasks you have left to do while you are on vacation: what work needs to be done and how to get it done while you are lounging by the pool.

   
   

• Inform everyone on the team when you will be leaving and when you will be returning, and if it is possible to reach you by phone call, text message, or email in case of an emergency. The basic rule is no one should pull you out when you are on vacation.

  
  

• Split all your tasks into days if they are small and repetitive routine tasks, or by tasks if they are big tasks and stretched out in time.

  
  

• If you hand over your work to several colleagues who will be responsible for these tasks during your absence, indicate which tasks each of them is responsible for. Of course, only after you have reached an agreement with them.

  
  

• If it is necessary to negotiate with clients, colleagues or contractors to complete the task, immediately provide their contact information and the date they need to be contacted.

  
  

2. Share a link to this document with everyone involved via email and post it on work chats where it can be easily found if needed.

   
   

3. Let everyone else know who you will be handing over jobs to during the holidays or vacation.

   
   

4. Set up an automatic reply in the mail. In it, you should indicate when you will return and who to contact with specific requests, questions, and projects until then.

   
   

5. Use time-shifted messages. This is an ideal way to carefully remind others of the most important things so they do not fall on the first day of your vacation, but right when you need them.

When you leave for good 🤗

1. Inform your boss of your decision to change jobs and the reasons for it. Do this in advance, if possible, to allow time for discussion: Companies often respond by offering their employees alternative interesting assignments and/or better conditions.

   
   

2. Start looking for a replacement and suggest candidates if you know someone who would be a good fit for the position.

   
   

3. Complete any small tasks that do not require a handoff.

   
   

4. Take an hour to meet with your boss and colleagues to give them feedback on what was good, what was bad, and what could be improved in terms of procedures, communications, tasks, etc.

   
   

5. To the team, send an email (or create a separate Google Doc). To allow time for discussion and questions, try to compose and deliver it to everyone concerned well in advance—at least a week before quitting. Write about the following in your farewell letter.

   
   

   ✅ To-do list. Routine only becomes noticeable when you stop doing it. Therefore, tell about even the smallest tasks so that none of them fall off when you leave. Have a list of big tasks that you will not be able to complete before you leave.

   
   

   ✅ Describe each task in great detail: how it all started, what is happening now, what the expected outcome is. If the company owes money to contractors, specify to whom and how much.

   
   

   ✅ Include contact information for communication on these tasks (both internal and external stakeholders). It would be great if you could make a brief comment about each person or company on the list: nice people on the board / we owe them / we started the project but something stalled / very complicated / ALARM! they are dumb.

   
   

6. Inform the people you have worked with both outside and inside the organization that you are leaving, along with who they should contact on the team or inside the company for business-related matters.

   
   

7. All external services that include your work email address or phone number as their login information should be changed.

   
   

8. If you can be reached by phone or email to clarify anything that is missing or confusing, let everyone know.

   
   

But if you transfer the work using this checklist, this is most likely not necessary. 😉