Template

Handover meeting template

When work changes hands: what is in progress, what is promised to whom, and what only the person leaving knows.

45 minutesFor Anybody handing work to somebody elseAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. What you are taking over5 min
    • What is this work for, and who cares about it?
  2. In progress right now12 min
    • What is half done?
    • What is due in the next two weeks?
  3. Promises made8 min
    • What have we told people we would do, and by when?
  4. People to know6 min
    • Who do I ask about what?
    • Who will ring me?
  5. Where everything lives8 min
    • Where are the files, the logins and the notes?
  6. What only you know6 min
    • What is not written down anywhere?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

In progress. The renewal for Northwind, waiting on their legal team since the 3rd.

Promised. A report to the board by the 20th.

Only you know. The supplier's invoice is always wrong in the same way; check the tax line.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Shift handoverTen minutes: what happened, what is still open, what to watch.
Leaving the companyDo it twice: once two weeks before, and once on the last day, when the questions are better.

When to skip it. Never. Work handed over without a conversation is work done twice.

Questions

What should a handover include?

What is in progress, what is due, what has been promised to whom, who to ask, where things are kept, and anything that is not written down.

How long should a handover take?

Forty-five minutes for one person's work, and a shorter one a week later for the questions that come up.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Strategy offsite (half day)Half a day away from the daily work: where the company is, the few choices that matter, and three priorities for the year.Budget review meetingSpending against the plan, line by line where it matters, and the decisions that follow.Decision meetingOne decision, the choices on the table, and a written record of what was chosen and why.Quarterly planning meetingOnce a quarter: look honestly at the last three months, choose a few things for the next three, and check there are enough people to do them.Daily standupFifteen minutes, three questions, everybody once.Weekly team meetingThe numbers, everybody's one priority, and the decisions that cannot wait.All-hands meetingThe whole company in one call: where things stand, what is next, and any question people want to ask.Leadership team meetingThe people who run the company, once a week: the numbers, what is stuck, and the decisions only this group can make.

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