66. Don’t Wait Until You Quit To Document

What do we do when someone on our team quits? Do we know exactly what they were doing? Do we know where they left off? How easy would it be for you to pick up where they left off and continue the work?It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day rhythm of whatever it is we do for a living. Inevitably though, someone on our team will leave for one reason or another. The chances of getting decent documentation or adequate knowledge transfer a week or two before your coworkers are gone forever is pretty unlikely.Hopefully, you don’t want to put your co-workers in a position like this. So, do your future self, and your future coworkers, a favor. Document! Document! Document!Don’t wait until the last minute to document and share the processes you follow and the work that you do. Normalize documenting and sharing, so everyone on your team has some idea of what everyone else is up to.Topics:• 8:24 – What do we do with the inevitability of attrition?• 10:39 – We’re all fairly replaceable• 13:05 – Lost tribal knowledge is very harmful• 13:57 – Lean’s concept of Standard Work is helpful for documentation• 17:53 – The today you will be more familiar with a problem than later you• 18:52 – The pain of the KT is always the rush and urgency• 19:34 – Derek’s tips for documenting• 29:14 – How often do we analyze the work we do?Helpful Links:• Federation HQ• Conan Gray• Passion Pit—– Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton. If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear. • Check out our website • Follow us on twitter • Find us on Facebook • Subscribe on Google Podcasts • Subscribe on Apple Podcasts • Subscribe on Spotify • Subscribe on Stitcher Episode thumbnail by Callum Shaw on Unsplash