This Document Includes

This document includes:

1. Internal memo: Handover procedure in connection with staff changes
2. Internal regulation 2/03: Handover procedure in connection with staff changes
3. Checklist: Guideline questions for handover meetings and notes
4. Knowledge continuity following staff changes - Analysis of response to questionnaire on handovers in connection with staff changes in the BMZ in 2002

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Internal memo

Handover procedure in connection with staff changes

The enclosed internal regulation deals with the documented handover of jobs when there is a change of staff. This provides a systematic basis for improving institutional learning within the BMZ, something that will benefit both the ministry and individual employees but has been lacking to date. It allows the BMZ greater productivity and continuity in discharging its duties. It also provides valuable support to staff members in tackling the special challenge of rapidly developing the skills needed when taking on a new post.

The quality of the handover will depend in practice on the care each individual takes over it, on the ideas they have and also on the time pressures they face when the changeover occurs. The aim of the regulation is therefore to outline a handover procedure that allows the relevant knowledge to be preserved without a disproportionate amount of working time being taken up. Clearly, however, a good handover does require time, and this should be taken into account when planning work.

The following notes on the internal regulation “Handover procedure in connection with staff changes” begin with a description of the problem the regulation aims to address. Enclosed is a checklist, containing suggestions on how to structure handover discussions and notes.

The problem being addressed

The need for a quality procedure for job handovers within the BMZ is made particularly urgent by the fact that staff operate as “all-rounders” and frequently change jobs within the ministry. The “all-rounder” principle means that individuals have to be able to familiarise themselves rapidly with new subject areas. The faster this process of familiarisation can take place, the faster they can become operational in their new job. Staff statistics from 2000 and 2001 show that over 70 people in the executive and professional grades alone change job each year and must be familiarised with their new tasks. That is 20% of people working in these civil service grades. Statistically, the entire staff of the BMZ moves round once every five years. Handover procedures have, until now, varied widely and have not always done enough to ensure that knowledge is preserved.

A further, systemic cause for the existing failings in knowledge continuity when there is a change of staff is the frequency with which posts remain unfilled, thus preventing an oral handover and making any written documentation outdated. The administrative unit of the ministry is currently trying to tackle this issue and cut down the length of time for which posts remain unfilled.

Notes on the internal regulation

The internal regulation on "handover procedure in connection with staff changes" intends to remedy the current absence of a recognised procedure for job handovers. It establishes minimum standards for the documentation of information specific to each job. It makes it compulsory for people leaving a job to brief their successor both orally and using written notes. It also requires superiors to allow sufficient time for the handover and to ensure that it is of a sufficiently high quality. Knowledge continuity is a management function.

The most sustainable and effective form of handover is for the person leaving the job to personally instruct their successor. Every effort should be made to facilitate this kind of personal instruction, and the superior concerned should lend his or her support. Only a personal discussion allows the new person to ask questions directly and it allows complex situations to be explained more rapidly and in greater depth. If possible, the person leaving the job should have the opportunity to familiarise the new person with the job over a period of time, starting for example with a whole day and going on to appointments of a few hours at longer intervals. This avoids any information overload at the beginning and allows questions that subsequently arise to be answered.

The handover notes serve two purposes: if it is possible for the new person in the job to be personally instructed by their predecessor, back-up documentation saves them from being overloaded with information. If this has not been possible, however, the written documentation must compensate as far as possible and deal with important information in greater detail. The enclosed checklist sets out a number of key questions as guidance for structuring the handover notes. These questions were taken from the numerous discussions that took place within the ministry and formed into a certain structure. They should, however, be regarded merely as a guide and should be adapted to the special requirements of each post.

The regulation applies to all civil service grades. Given that staff in the executive and professional grades change jobs comparatively often, however, the need there is particularly great. The checklist’s suggestions on how to structure the handover therefore refer in particular to those groups.

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Internal regulation 2/03

Handover procedure in connection with staff changes

Handover procedure

1. Before leaving a post, every member of staff shall prepare handover notes. The notes should be structured in accordance with the enclosed checklist. The structure may be adapted as appropriate for those in the clerical or manual grades.

2.Wherever possible, a handover meeting – or, if appropriate, several meetings – should take place. In structuring these meetings, the checklist should be taken as a guide.

Knowledge continuity as a management function

1.Superiors shall ensure the quality of the handover notes by checking that they are of the appropriate length, are factually accurate and are tailored to the specific characteristics of the division concerned.

2.Superiors shall create the necessary conditions for an appropriate handover by instructing the member of staff to draw up the handover notes. Before members of staff leaves, they shall be allowed the necessary time to draw up the handover notes. Superiors shall also ensure that new members of staff entering the division are able to conduct an adequate handover in their old division.

This regulation comes into force with immediate effect.

Erich Stather

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Checklist

Guideline questions for handover meetings and notes

The handover between a person leaving a job and his or her successor should be structured in such a way as to cover the most important substantive aspects. The guideline questions contained in this checklist aim to help you structure your handover meetings and notes. The structure can be adapted in each case to the particular features of the job.

1.What strategically important processes are being dealt with at present?

The aim of this question is to prioritise tasks. In future, this should also be linked to agreed performance objectives, which define the strategic objectives to be achieved within the foreseeable future.

2.What time-sensitive processes are to be dealt with and what should be the next steps?

This question is aimed at putting current processes onto a time axis.

3.What should your successor know about the most important procedures? What tips can you offer?

By answering this question, you should enable your successor to deal with the most common procedures and methods relevant for the job.

4.What are the constraints that are typically encountered and what can be done?

Here, you should list the constraints that are often encountered both within the division and also with the implementing organisations and other ministries.

5.What sources of information are available?

In the handover meeting and handover notes, you should point the new person to the most important sources of information.

5.1Useful contacts and job-specific telephone book

These include both contacts within the BMZ itself and also in the implementing organisations and representatives of German development co-operation within the partner countries; it includes contacts in Germany, in the partner country, in other institutions or organisations etc. The job-specific telephone book should contain the numbers of all relevant contacts and also a brief description of their function, the kind of information they can supply and whether certain tasks can be delegated to them. The list of telephone numbers should be stored in a standardised form on computer on the central server that can be accessed by all members of the division; this allows anybody who is deputising for you to access it as well.

As well as introducing your successor to their official duties, you should also give them access to your own informal network of information. A personal handover is therefore very important, as there may be some information you would prefer not to put down in writing. When BMZ staff who are being seconded to an embassy abroad as development officers visit the country to find accommodation, they should be introduced personally to all the most important contacts.

5.2Ready reference files

Ready reference files are often stores of useful information that is worth preserving. If your successor is to be able to use them, they should be well organised and whittled down to the most important details. Since everybody has their own individual system for filing information, it is often useful to explain it to the new person.

5.3Electronic documents

Many documents are filed on computer. As with ready reference files, you should ensure that only the most important documents are stored and are organised in a structured way.

5.4Internet bookmarks

If you have bookmarked any internet sites that provide important information, make sure they are clearly marked and pass them on to your successor (the IT division can provide you with technical assistance). It is also important to write down passwords for any restricted access websites.

5.5List of important documents

For all aspects of the job, there are key documents that contain information and are constantly referred to. You should also give your successor a list briefly noting what these documents are.

6.Information specific to the particular division or directorate-general

As a result of the way work is divided amongst the various directorates-general and divisions, each one has its only particularly features. The staff working in these units know best what they are. The following is not an exhaustive list but indicates what some of these specific pieces of information could be. If you are in any doubt, feel free to add other pieces of information.

6.1For the regional divisions

• table of exchanges of notes
• list of funding commitments
• country folders: folders with important information on the co-operation countries being dealt with
• report on the process of drawing up priority area strategies and country strategies

6.2For divisions dealing with institutions

• informal and formal aspects of procedures in the institutions concerned: decision-making structures, clashes of interest, hidden agendas etc.

6.3For sectoral divisions

• current status of international negotiations/international agreements

Important information that is used regularly should be documented on a day-to-day basis as work is being carried out. The advantages are that:

• it makes it much easier for colleagues to deputise for you
• less work is required in preparing a handover
• documenting processes will help to structure work.

The following can be useful in this kind of continuous documentation: 1. (strategically important processes); 5.1 (job-specific telephone book); 5.2 (ready reference files), 5.3 (electronic documents); 5.4 (bookmarks).

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Knowledge continuity following staff changes

Analysis of response to questionnaire on handovers in connection with staff changes in the BMZ in 2002

Summary:

• The proportion of questionnaires returned (86%) shows the relevance of the issue for staff and allows valid conclusions to be drawn.
• In 2002, 45% of all members of staff who took on a new post within the BMZ received no handover at all from their predecessor.
• Handovers consisting of both discussions and handover notes were judged to be particularly useful (with a mark of 1.4[1]). The next best alternative was a handover consisting of a discussion only (2.1) and in third place was a handover consisting of only handover notes (2.3).
• A handover is judged to be equally useful when posts have been vacant for a long period of time (2.3), and indeed the average mark awarded by those in desk officer posts was 1.8.
• Conclusions: the findings that emerge from the staff questionnaire confirm that introducing an obligatory handover procedure was the right decision. The results of the survey will be compared with those from future surveys in order to assess the effectiveness of the measure.

A survey was conducted among BMZ staff between 23 April and 9 May 2003 to poll their experience of handover procedures. All those surveyed had taken on a new post within the BMZ in 2002 and they asked about whether they had received handover notes (question 1) or had handover discussions (question 2) and on how useful they had found the handover (question 3).

Response

By 9 May, there had been a response of 86%, which shows the importance that is attached to the issue and the degree of acceptance enjoyed by the questionnaire, which had been designed so that it was quick to complete.

Table 1: Response from different groups

Division heads / Desk officers / Assistant desk
officers / Adminis-trative staff /

Total

Questionnaires distributed / 11 / 50 / 28 / 15 / 104
Questionnaires returned / 11 / 45 / 24 / 9 / 89
Response in % / 100% / 90% / 86% / 60% / 86%

Findings

In response to question 1 (“Did you receive handover notes?”), 15% of those surveyed said yes. The rate was highest with division heads (20%) and lowest with administrative staff (11%). This means that, alarmingly, 85% of all those questioned received no handover notes.

In response to question 2 (“Did you have a handover discussion?”), just over half (51%) said yes. The percentage was much higher for division heads (80%) and at its lowest for desk officers (43%). Thus, more than half of all desk officers (57%) began work in their new post without having an introductory discussion with their predecessor.

By combining the responses to questions 1 and 2 it can be seen that in a dismal 45% of cases, there were no handover notes or handover discussions. Only 7% of those questioned were able to reply to yes to both questions. A tiny 4% received handover notes without a handover discussion, whilst a somewhat more respectable 44% had a handover discussion but received no handover notes.

In employees’ assessment of the usefulness of the handover (question 3), the highest marks were given in cases where there were both handover notes and a handover discussion (average mark: 1.4), a scenario that was sadly relatively rare (see above). In the 44% of cases in which at least a handover discussion had taken place, the average mark given for the usefulness of the handover was 2.1. In the few cases where there were handover notes but no handover discussion, the average mark awarded was 2.5. Obviously, in the 45% cases in which no handover had taken place whatsoever, no mark for usefulness could be awarded. In these cases, however, many of those concerned had written such things as “would have been a great help” in the space provided for comments.

The marks given for the usefulness of a handover in cases where posts had been vacant for some time, which were derived from the combination of responses to the follow-up question posed under question 2 and question 3, showed that a handover was also felt to be useful in these cases. In cases where posts had not remained vacant, the average mark for the usefulness of the handover was 2.1. Where posts had remained vacant for over 4 weeks, the mark remained roughly the same (2.3). Indeed, desk officers gave higher marks for usefulness in cases where the post had remained vacant for some time before they arrived.

Table 2: Handover notes and discussions and their usefulness

Head of division / Desk
officer / Assistant desk
officer / Adminis-trative staff /

Total

Handover notes and discussion / 20% / 3% / 9% / 11% / 7%
Average mark for usefulness(1-5) / 1.5 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 1.4
Handover discussion only / 60% / 40% / 44% / 45% / 44%
Average mark for usefulness(1-5) / 2.7 / 1.3 / 2.3 / 2.3 / 2.1
Handover notes only / 0% / 5% / 5% / 0% / 4%
Average mark for usefulness(1-5) / 0 / 2 / 3 / 0 / 2.5
Neither (!) / 20% / 53% / 44% / 45% / 45%

Conclusions

Staff clearly feel that handover procedures are very useful in enabling them to familiarise themselves rapidly with their job, especially if they are made up of a combination of handover notes and a handover discussion. Internal regulation 2/03 of 21 May 2003 is therefore a step in the right direction. Repeating the survey in 2003 will reveal whether it has been possible to reduce the proportion of cases in which no handover took place (45%).

Where posts remain vacant for a long period of time, the handover procedure becomes less effective. The longer a post remains vacant, the less likelihood there is of a handover taking place. In these cases, the handover is also more likely to be in the form of handover notes, which is the least effective form. Even in such less than perfect cases, it was confirmed that a handover was useful.

Holger Illi

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[1] On a scale ranging from 1 (highest mark) to 5 (lowest mark).