How do we handle a team member leaving mid-project?
Unplanned team transitionProtect continuity by identifying responsibilities, access, knowledge, and pending decisions early. Respect employment processes and avoid assuming a departing person can complete unlimited handover work.
What to do now
- Inventory critical responsibilities
- Prioritize knowledge and evidence transfer
- Assign replacement or interim owners
- Update access and delivery commitments appropriately
When to escalate
Escalate when
A critical function has no capable or authorized replacement.
Who decides
The team lead and appropriate line manager
Example
A replacement owner demonstrates the deployment procedure before the departing engineer's access ends.
Mistake to avoid
Requesting a generic handover document without testing its usefulness.
Prevent a repeat
Review whether working agreements improve delivery and raise people concerns through the appropriate channels.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Resources
- Documents
Make agreed responsibilities and follow-up tasks visible while keeping sensitive people matters in the authorized confidential process. See the platform
Related cases
- Two team members are in constant conflict. How should I intervene?Unresolved working conflict
- A team member keeps missing commitments. What should I check first?Unexamined performance barrier
- When should I release team members from a closing project?Unplanned resource release
- Who owns benefits after the project team leaves?Unassigned benefits accountability