Running the company
What to Do When Your Best Tradesman Gives Notice
When your best tradesman gives notice, use his remaining time to capture the few things only he knows. Make a short list, get each item written down in his words, have him review it, and let his replacement learn it before he's gone. Two weeks is enough if you start on the first day.
It happens to every contractor sooner or later. Your best lead, the one who frames it right the first time or whose panels never come back from inspection, tells you he's taking another job, moving, or retiring. The first reaction is usually to think about who will replace him. The more important question is what he knows that nobody else does, and how to keep it.
Day one: thank him, then ask for help
How you handle the conversation matters. Thank him for his work, and then ask him directly: "Before you go, would you help us make sure the way you do things stays with the company?" Most good tradesmen are proud of their work and are glad to be asked. It's a sign of respect, not a burden.
Make it clear his name can be on what gets captured, or not, whichever he prefers.
Make a short list of what only he knows
Sit down together for 20 minutes and list the things that would go wrong if he left tomorrow. Keep it practical. For most leads, the list includes:
- The two or three tasks he does better than anyone, and how he does them
- The checks he makes before he calls something done
- The mistakes he catches most often on other people's work
- What each inspector, GC, or regular customer expects
- Tricks, jigs, or setups he uses that nobody else has picked up
- Suppliers, contacts, or workarounds only he knows about
Then rank it. Start with whatever would cost you the most if it walked out the door.
Get it down in his words
For each item on the list, answer three questions in plain language:
- How do you do it?
- What do people usually get wrong?
- How do you know it's done right?
He can write the answers himself, or a supervisor can ask him and write them down. One page per task is plenty. If he's willing, have someone film him doing the task on a normal workday, under five minutes, hands and voice only if he prefers. Video helps, but it's optional. The written answers are what matter most.
Have him check it
Before his last week, give him everything that was written down and ask him to fix anything that's wrong or missing. This step is easy to skip and important not to. It's the difference between "roughly how Henry did it" and "how Henry did it."
Let his replacement learn it while he's still there
If you already know who will take over, have that person go through the material and then work next to him for a few days. That way, questions get answered by the person who knows, instead of guessed at after he's gone.
After he leaves
Once his know-how is captured, it doesn't only help his replacement. Every new hire after that can learn the same things on day one. Turned into short lessons crew members take on their phones, in English or Spanish, it keeps teaching long after his last day.
And end on good terms. Good tradesmen often come back, refer people, or answer a quick call months later. The way you handle his departure is part of how your company is known.
Don't wait for the next notice
The easiest time to capture how your best people work is before anyone gives notice. Retirements you can plan for. Injuries, moves, and competing offers you can't. If this just happened to you, it's worth starting on the next person on your list now, while things are calm.