The T word
	Posted by Alex Wettreich at Jun 05, 2008 11:48 PM CDT Categories: Productivity

One issue I see clients dealing with every day is the disruption caused by staff turnover - particularly unexpected turnover. It's not much fun when the staffer responsible for your action alerts quits 2 days before a key Congressional hearing...and no-one else knows how to use the email tool. And if the staffer is a database administrator, multiply the pain and fear by 2x.

Untrained folks will get frustrated stepping into someone's shoes at short notice, especially if processes have gone undocumented. Not to mention the potential havoc that can ensue when long-established business rules are ignored by a well-meaning stand-in. 

On top of the immediate inconvenience and disruption, turnover can sap long-term momentum, particularly for online outreach or fundraising programs whose value - in many cases - is not broadly recognized or internalized by the rest of the organization. 

I don't pretend to be an expert in mitigating the impact of employee turnover, but here are some suggestions for ways to minimize the pain if or - let's face it - when it happens to your organization:

• documenting business processes. Do you have a checklist of everything that goes into getting your email newsletters out? You can post the steps for recurring tasks like these on your Intranet/wiki (if you don't have one, Google Sites is free for 501(c)(3)s). Also, documenting relevant information contextually is always helpful - for instance, are you using the administrator description fields on your donation forms so that future generations of online appeal senders can understand which forms to link to in which situations?
• cross-training. In a resource-strapped nonprofit, it's never easy to build true redundancy into the organization - but perhaps rotating tasks once in a while can help broaden the knowledge base while keeping things interesting for staff. In addition, if your various technology vendors offer free online trainings - screencasts, on-demand presentations, etc. - encourage your team to take full advantage. 
• documenting key contacts and contracts. Support desk 800 numbers, account manager contact info, the email address of that lifesaving freelancer you sometimes call on, copies of your vendor contracts...all archived somewhere other than your My Documents folder
• standard exit checklists. Sometimes staffers run away to the circus, but most times there is at least some kind of notice given...so create a standard exit checklist you can walk through with them. That way, any useful info is routinely captured before that person walks out the door and gets the usual new-gig amnesia
• identify your "break glass in emergency" kit. Who can you turn to for a helping hand in a crisis? For instance, I know that in addition to our in-house resources, Convio has some excellent partners whose product and strategic expertise makes them adept at stepping in and keeping the trains running (and your momentum intact) when key online staff quit and you need time to identify their long-term replacement. Or you may have a freelancer or ex-staffer you trust to help out in a pinch. But identifying who your go-to folks might be before the crisis hits will be a lifesaver if/when it happens.

Those are just a few simple ideas - what have you seen work well to keep your online programs chugging along when a key person leaves?

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