You’ve been at your position for years and now you are moving on, perhaps to another job within the company or to another company entirely. This is a good time to start making a checklist as you transition out of your position and hopefully help someone new come on board.
Here is a checklist for a graceful exit and smooth transition:
- Write your job description with bullet points of each task you perform (many will have several levels as you start with high level items and get more specific). Your list is likely much more comprehensive than anything found in the HR department.
- Provide a list of tools and resources with accompanying login credentials, for instance:
- Document management (Google, Dropbox, etc.)
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Web/domain management (registrar, hosting, email, etc.)
- Social media
- Digital marketing (Google AdWords/Analytics, Bing Ads, etc.)
- Email distribution
- Survey tools
- Project management tools
- Media subscriptions
- Public relations/press release distribution sites
- Civic and professional association memberships
- Training
- Stock photography
- Awards
- Vendors / Purchasing
- Provide information about where to find key documents:
- Marketing plan
- Client/contact lists
- Logos
- Content (company/product/service descriptions, keyword lists, etc.)
- Photo/video library
- Current projects, status, budgets, deadlines, contacts
- Passwords and physical keys
- Contact your colleagues and vendors to let them know the news. This will reassure them that they will receive a new project or account manager who will do a great job. If your replacement has started and you are training her/him, take them on visits to introduce them
- Set up a meeting with your supervisor to go over all the documents you’ve created so they can be another layer of informed support
- Send cards to favorite contacts thanking them for a great relationship. If you promise to keep in touch, make sure to keep the promise
- If possible, introduce your replacement to key contacts within your organization that you worked closely with or who were pivotal to your success: a passionate graphic designer who nailed projects every time, a web developer who was very detail oriented and a great communicator, and a mentor who you could bounce ideas off
Depending on your specific position, you’ll want to add to this list. You love the company you currently work for. You love your clients and coworkers. You want to see everyone succeed. The main goal is to make sure that the projects you are working on are transitioned so seamlessly, your clients won’t even know you’re gone!
