Career development
Make a knowledge index before changing roles
Build a simple list of the documents and systems your role depends on, with a purpose, an owner, a current status and a way to request access. Add the open items and anything you know that is not written down anywhere.
A text to start with
I am changing roles and want to leave a knowledge index for my successor. My main responsibilities are [list]. The documents and tools I use are [list]. Open items right now are [list]. Help me turn this into an index with purpose, owner, status and access route for each entry. Ask me about anything that seems to live only in my memory.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Role knowledge index
Role being handed over: [ ] Successor or receiving manager: [ ] Handover date: [ ] Document or system: [ ] Purpose: [ ] Owner: [ ] Link: [ ] Link checked on: [ ] Current status: [ ] How to request access: [ ] Stored in a personal account? [yes / no] New location: [ ] Open item: [ ] Next step and holder: [ ] Fact known only to me: [ ] Where I will record it: [ ] Index stored at: [ ] Review date: [ ]
Stale links and personal accounts
Check every link by opening it, since old ones often point to moved or deleted files. For work information stored in a personal account or private thread, ask the responsible owner what should be transferred and to which approved location. Leave unrelated personal material out. Do not put passwords or access codes in the index; give the approved way to request access. Look for decisions and contacts you only remember, such as why a setting was chosen or who to call at a vendor. Mark each unresolved item with a next step and the person who holds it.
Ask another agent to check the result
Review this index for stale or broken links, items stored in personal accounts or drives, and facts that appear to exist only in the author's memory. List open items without a named holder or next step, and any entry missing an access route.
Hand it over and test it
Ask your manager who will receive the index and agree on a date to walk through it together. If possible, have your successor or a colleague try to find three things using only the index, then fix the gaps they report. Store the index in a shared location, tell the listed owners they are named, and set a date by which someone confirms it is still correct.