Knowledge Transfer Plan

Role / area being transferred: [Role, system, or relationship this plan covers] Reason for transfer: [Offboarding / role change / vendor handover] Transfer window: [Start date] to [End date — typically the last working day] Plan owner: [Manager or lead accountable for the transfer]

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1. Scope and people

[State clearly what is in scope for this transfer and who is involved.]

• Departing / outgoing party: [Name and current role]
• Receiving party: [Name and the role they will hold]
• Manager / sponsor: [Who owns the outcome of this transfer]
• In scope: [The systems, processes, accounts, and relationships covered]
• Out of scope: [Anything explicitly handled elsewhere or already transferred]

2. Critical knowledge inventory

[List what must transfer, rated by how critical it is. Spend the most time on the high-criticality rows.]

Knowledge area	Description	Held by	Criticality	Transfer method
[System / process / account]	[What it is and why it matters]	[Name]	[High / Med / Low]	[Docs / Shadowing / Pairing]
[System / process / account]	[What it is and why it matters]	[Name]	[High / Med / Low]	[Docs / Shadowing / Pairing]
[Key relationship]	[Client / supplier / internal team]	[Name]	[High / Med / Low]	[Warm introduction]
[Recurring task]	[What it is and how often it runs]	[Name]	[High / Med / Low]	[Reverse shadowing]

3. Transfer methods and schedule

[Sequence the work across the transfer window: documentation first, then watching, then doing.]

Week / date	Focus	Method	Participants
[Week 1]	[Capture written runbooks and account notes]	[Documentation]	[Outgoing + receiver]
[Week 2]	[Receiver observes the critical tasks]	[Shadowing]	[Outgoing + receiver]
[Week 3]	[Receiver performs tasks under supervision]	[Reverse shadowing]	[Outgoing + receiver]
[Week 4]	[Receiver works independently]	[Independent work + office hours]	[Receiver, with outgoing on call]

4. Documentation checklist

[The durable record that must exist by the end of the transfer. Tick each item when complete.]

• [Runbooks for recurring and emergency procedures]
• [System access list: accounts, credentials, and where they are stored]
• [Key contacts: clients, suppliers, internal owners, with context on each]
• [Decision log / why-it-is-this-way notes for non-obvious choices]
• [Open items: in-flight work, known issues, and upcoming deadlines]
• [Recorded walkthroughs for the most complex tasks]

5. Validation and sign-off

[Prove the knowledge actually landed. The receiver demonstrates, both parties sign off.]

Critical area	Receiver demonstrated unaided?	Outgoing sign-off	Receiver sign-off
[Area 1]	[Yes / Not yet]	[Name + date]	[Name + date]
[Area 2]	[Yes / Not yet]	[Name + date]	[Name + date]
[Area 3]	[Yes / Not yet]	[Name + date]	[Name + date]

Manager confirmation: [Manager confirms the transfer is complete, or notes residual risk to manage.]

6. Risks and contingencies

[What might not transfer in time, and what you will do about it.]

Risk	Likelihood	Mitigation / contingency
[Knowledge area still at risk on the last day]	[High / Med / Low]	[Retain on short consulting basis / escalate]
[Key relationship not yet introduced]	[High / Med / Low]	[Schedule a joint call before the final day]
[Receiver unavailable for part of the window]	[High / Med / Low]	[Compress schedule / add a backup receiver]

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Optional additions

• Backup receiver: [A second person briefed on the highest-criticality areas to avoid a new single point of failure.]
• Post-transfer review: [A check-in 30 days after the handover to catch gaps that only appear in practice.]
• Emergency contact: [Whether and how the outgoing party can be reached after they leave, and for how long.]