Losing a Lone Wolf

Losing a long-term employee with significant knowledge can be a significant blow to a company. I have spoken to a client recently who was shocked by a resignation from an employee who has been there close to 30 years. This person is a specialist who is integral to the business, however they are a ‘𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳’ who hasn’t shared their way of working. Unfortunately, the business now has only three months to get as much information from this person as possible…

To mitigate the impact my client is going to implement the following that may be useful to any other business leaders going through the same thing:

🤔 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿:
• Schedule structured knowledge transfer meetings with the departing employee and their key contacts.
• Document processes, procedures, and important information in a centralised repository (e.g., wiki, shared drive).
• Consider creating a handover document outlining critical tasks, contacts, and project details.

👨‍🎓 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁:
• Offer additional training or support to the team members who will be taking on the departing employee's responsibilities.
• Encourage open communication within the team to share knowledge and address questions.
• Provide mentorship opportunities for less experienced team members.

🗣 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
• Conduct a thorough exit interview to understand the reasons for departure and gather feedback on the company culture and processes.
• This can help identify areas for improvement and prevent future departures.
• Post-Departure Relationship:
• Maintain a positive relationship with the departing employee, as they may be a valuable resource in the future.
• Consider offering a non-compete agreement or consulting contract to retain their knowledge and expertise.

We also discussed considering hiring an 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 with relevant expertise to fill the knowledge gap temporarily. This person is likely to be someone more senior/with more experience than necessary for the permanent position but will be able to assimilate quickly and therefore lessen the immediate impact.

This really could have been mitigated for far in advance with the right planning. There can be a place in organisations for ‘lone wolves’, however this can be helped by scheduling in regular structured knowledge transfer meetings with them, as well as strategic succession planning to identify and develop potential replacements for key positions. This means regularly assessing the skills and development needs of employees to ensure a smooth transition in case of unexpected departures. hashtag#lonewolf hashtag#interim

Simon Owens, Director, Kaizen Talent Solutions simon@kaizen-ts.co.uk