What would you do if one of your employees accepted an offer from another firm? In a large company, you might plan a goodbye party. But in a small business—where responsibilities rarely overlap—you’re more likely to need a crash course in his/her project load.

Patrick Schaber, who blogs at The Lonely Marketer, says this mad scramble for information exposes a lack of internal communication in small businesses. There is an easy fix to keep everyone in the loop. “The trick,” he writes, “is to make everyone aware of each other’s role without the departure of a [team member].”

• Connect the dots. In staff or team meetings, try, “The project started here, this is how I got here …” instead of, “Everything’s good, here’s where I’m at …”
• Trade places. When traveling, ask different team members to serve as your back-up referral for time-sensitive queries. This acquaints more than one person with the ins and outs of your role.
• Play the “I Just Gave My Two-Week Notice” game. Every six months, have the entire team pretend they’ve given notice. What do colleagues need to know before they leave? Block off a few hours to identify mission-critical tasks and processes, and then meet as a group to bring the team up to speed on various projects.

The Po!nt: Keeping tabs on the progress and rationale of your team’s projects not only makes turnover less painful. The additional knowledge can help improve decisions and processes in your own work.

To get more ideas for improving operations at small businesses, read Patrick Schaber's blog posts at The Lonely Marketer.

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