You just got the news no one wants to hear. Shari is leaving. The one person the organization can't function without. This is an absolute nightmare. What do you do now?
Hopefully, it's not too late and Shari—or whoever your key person (or people) may be—hasn't left. That means you have time. But this needs to be a priority. If or when Shari does leave, the transition will be much less painful with a bit of preparation today.
Your best insurance policy for the loss of key employees is to document their jobs as thoroughly as possible. This can be done in three steps.
- Make a list of the regular tasks that each employee does. A flowchart diagram is the most effective and efficient way to do this.
- For each regular task, carefully document the steps that must be performed. A flowchart is ideal for showing the different steps that occur as the result of an action or decision. Anyone can easily follow the steps as they occur in an orderly, logical progression.
- Make the information easily accessible to other employees. This makes it much easier to train people in backup roles or to onboard new hires.
SmartDraw gives you everything you need to document any kind of process. It comes with smart templates to get you started right away. In most cases, training or reading of manuals isn't even necessary. Anyone can build a flowchart or other diagram right away.
SmartDraw uses smart formatting to apply spacing, connecting lines, and everything else your diagram needs. Just add shapes and type in the text. That's it. Drag them around on the page, add or delete shapes, and everything readjusts and formats automatically.
