What happens when the only person who knows the system is out?

Payroll is due at noon. The office manager is away, and the person covering for her can open the payroll portal but can’t approve the run. The owner has authority to approve it, but hasn’t been set up in the system. By the time everyone understands the problem, they’re calling the person who was supposed to be off.

I’d use that situation to test a handover. A folder full of instructions can be helpful, but I want to know whether the next person can finish the job on a normal workday with the access and authority they already have.

Find out what only one person can do

Think of a task that has a real deadline. Payroll is a good example because there’s a difference between opening the application, preparing the run and authorizing payment. Ask the usual operator to describe the point at which somebody else would get stuck. You may learn that the approval prompt goes to one person, or that the preparer relies on a spreadsheet sitting in a personal work folder.

The distinction matters because each problem needs a different fix. A backup person who can see the records may still need to be named as an approver. A person who has both permissions may need to know how to spot an unusual total. Giving everybody the same level of access can erase a useful separation between preparation and approval without teaching anybody how to do either job.

Give the backup person a job they can actually do

For payroll, I’d name one person who can prepare the run and one who can approve it when the regular approver is away. Confirm with whoever manages payroll that the provider supports those roles and that the alternates can sign in using their own accounts. Keep the usual review in place. If an overtime total suddenly doubles, the backup preparer should know who can confirm it and where to find the approved time record.

Make the same distinction for the records around the work. If the current checklist and deadline calendar live under one person’s account, give them a team location with appropriate access. The Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive reference explains how to find the original file before moving it. Keep confidential records in the restricted location intended for them, and put the directions to that location in the handover.

Do a rehearsal that stops short of moving money

Pick an ordinary run when the regular operator can watch. Have the alternate start from the written instructions and use their own sign-in. Ask them to find the deadline, locate the approved inputs, and show where they would review the totals. Stop before any payment is released. If the provider has a suitable practice environment, use that for the full sequence. In the live system, agree in advance which screens and actions are safe to test.

The usual operator should let the alternate get stuck. If they lean over and say, “Oh, the current file is in my folder,” write down what the alternate needed at that moment. That interruption is the most useful part of the rehearsal. It tells you which step depends on someone being there to explain it.

Start with the tasks that can’t wait

I wouldn’t try to document everybody’s job in one afternoon. Start with the tasks that cost you something when they sit for two days. Ask who can do each one if the usual person is unavailable, and who has the authority to approve anything consequential. Keep the name of the alternate, the approval route and the location of the instructions together. The IT documentation reference has more on recording ownership and recovery contacts.

Then hand one task to the backup person. If they can find the information, get to the right screen and explain what they’d do next, you’ve learned more than you would from another meeting about who knows the system.