Insights
What knowledge would you lose if a key employee left?
When an experienced employee leaves, the business can lose knowledge that was never recorded: a customer's preferences, a supplier's workaround, or the detail that changes how a job should be handled.
You cannot document every judgment a person makes. You can make the information other people need less dependent on one person's availability.
Why it is difficult to write down
The people with the most useful knowledge are often busy. They may also find it hard to distinguish what they learned through experience from what a new employee would need explained.
“Write down how you do your job” is a large, vague assignment. Asking about a recent exception is more likely to produce a useful answer: What happened? How did you recognize it? What did you do differently?
What knowledge should you look for?
- Customer details: preferences, history, contact arrangements, and commitments that are not in the records.
- Suppliers and workarounds: the right person to call, a replacement part, or a known software limitation.
- Process exceptions: when standard pricing, scheduling, or procedures do not apply.
- Diagnostic experience: the signs that prompt further checks or a different approach.
- Relationships: customers or partners who rely on one employee and may need a thoughtful introduction to someone else.
Apply the same questions to yourself. If staff need you to resolve the same issues whenever you take time off, some of the most useful documentation may be yours.
Capture a little during normal work
When someone explains an exception, ask them to record a short note while it is fresh. A voice memo or photo with an explanation may be easier than writing a procedure immediately. Use an agreed place to store it.
Set aside time for a short interview about recent jobs. Ask what a new employee might miss, which customers need different handling, and what would cause the experienced person to stop and ask for help.
Keep ordinary records current too. Job notes, customer preferences, and photos are useful only if the next person can find and understand them.
Where can AI help?
Transcription and drafting tools can turn recorded explanations into draft procedures. Have the person who understands the work review the draft, especially the conditions, exceptions, and instructions that affect safety or quality.
Store the approved version in a searchable location with a date and a responsible person. A polished draft is not a substitute for checking whether a new employee can follow it.
Choose where to start
Look at the last absence or departure that caused problems. Which missing information delayed work, led to mistakes, or required repeated calls for help? Begin with a few of those situations.
Ask a less experienced employee to use the instructions and note where they need clarification. This makes documentation part of training and gives you a way to assess whether it is useful.