Knowledge transfer
Capture what a departing colleague knows about the work.
A departure makes one question urgent. What will the next person need to do when the experienced colleague is no longer there to explain it? Use this interview template to capture one important task in context, then turn the account into a resource a successor can test.
Choose the task that deserves the remaining time
Start with the manager, departing colleague and receiving owner. List the work due after the transition and identify where one person holds a decision rule, relationship or exception that others cannot explain. Prioritize by the consequences of a gap and the availability of another owner. The purpose is to prepare the next person for specific work.
Write the brief before asking for stories
Record the task, intended successor, upcoming work event and where the output will be kept. Explain who will read the notes and how the contributor can correct them. Identify existing instructions that the conversation should clarify. Agree which customer, employee or commercial details should stay in their authorized source location. The NASA continuity guide supports planning a transition and combining documentation with opportunities to learn from the experienced person.
Open with a recent instance
Ask the colleague to choose a recent occasion when they performed the task. Start with what triggered it and follow the sequence. What information arrived? What did they check before taking the first step? Which document did they use? Let the account unfold before inserting your own explanation. The worksheet provides prompts for the decision points, exceptions and people another colleague will need.
Slow down at the moment of judgment
A description such as “I check whether it looks right” is a useful place to pause. Ask what the colleague noticed, which possibilities they considered and why they chose one route. Find the signal a newcomer might miss. If their answer depends on experience of a customer, supplier or system, capture the observable cue and a route for checking it. Keep their explanation attached to the particular situation.
Ask where the usual approach fails
Choose a difficult case as well as a routine one. Ask which condition made the standard sequence unsuitable and who had authority to approve an exception. Identify the point where the successor should stop and seek help. A current workaround may expose an outdated instruction or an access problem. Record that mismatch for the process owner to resolve before it becomes guidance for someone else.
Turn contacts into a route someone can use
Names alone become stale quickly. For each dependency, record the role, the question that person can answer and the approved way to reach them. Check who takes over when that contact is absent. Link to a maintained directory where possible. If the departing colleague has been obtaining informal approvals, ask the accountable owner to confirm the appropriate route for the successor.
Draft a task card and run two different reviews
Reduce the interview to a task, trigger, source, steps, decision cues, exceptions and owner. Ask the contributor whether it represents their account accurately. Then ask the process owner whether it is current and suitable for the proposed use. These checks can produce different answers. Preserve unresolved points in the card and give each one an owner before deciding whether the successor can rely on it.
Worked example of a useful departure interview
In a fictional retail head office, Nora prepares a monthly supplier-returns reconciliation. Her first explanation is “I compare the files and ask finance about differences.” The interviewer asks about the last mismatch. Nora explains that promotional credit notes arrive under a different reference and shows the approved reconciliation guide. The draft task card captures that check and a finance role that can confirm an unresolved reference. It also exposes an undocumented approval step for the process owner to clarify.
Let the successor use the card
Ask the receiving colleague to work through an approved practice case or a suitable supervised task. Have them explain what they would do next and where they would ask for help. Watch for a missing source, inaccessible system or unexplained term. Revise the card against those observations. Arrange follow-up with a current owner so the handover still has support after the departure.
Keep the output small enough to maintain
The deliverable is a reviewed task card with an owner and the next event that should reopen it. Keep the approved instructions and the interview account distinguishable. A new process version, an unexpected exception or a question from the successor may all trigger an update. Use the readiness checklist for the separate decision about whether the handover has enough evidence to proceed.
Frequently asked questions
Questions that come up
What should a knowledge capture interview produce?
A short task card containing the trigger, current source, steps, decision cues, exceptions and responsible owner. Keep open questions visible and test the card with the person who will use it.
What if there is no named successor yet?
Choose a receiving owner who can preserve the material and arrange a later test. Ask a colleague familiar with the work to review the card, and record which parts still need testing by the eventual successor.
Can we record the conversation?
Agree the recording arrangements, permitted use, access and retention under your organization’s process. Notes can be sufficient when the task and decisions are captured clearly and the contributor can correct the account.
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