In this section is dedicated to the officers and captains who want to go the extra “mile” and
perfect their hand over skills in order to assist their reliever on all aspects of the vessel.
Below are some general pointers.
- Make time for hand over
A good handover is not a meeting, or a document, but a process. Whilst the key facts and figures for running a vessel can be summarized in a pack, the time required will of course vary depending on the complexity of the vessel and its maintenance stastus, in some cases it may only need a day, but the important point is that hand over can be started from the day you received your handover from the one you relieved!
- Don’t just handover work, handover relationships
We all know how important relationships are to delivering successful transformation. But it’s easy to forget these relationships when it comes to handing over. Of course, relationships exist between specific individuals and it’s not possible to pass them onto someone else like you would a spreadsheet. But we can still have a huge impact in facilitating the new relationships required to keep the vessel going when we’re gone; making introductions, leveraging the trust we have established and being a conduit for goodwill, all of the above can be expressed in a piece of paper if you master the way…
- Not everyone needs to know everything
Even if you could put everything you needed to know in one handover document, this would not be a very efficient handover, because not everyone needs to know everything. Different officers, and team members will require different information and levels of detail. Recognizing what each team/person member will require going forward is the first step in making sure those needs are met, and the best way to get this understanding is through working closely with the team/person during the handover process.
- Ownership of the detail is crucial
Whilst not everyone needs to know everything, everything needs to be known by someone! Outputs are always based on detailed analysis, with numerous assumptions, that have undergone various sign off procedures and subsequent iterations. Whilst the chief officer may not be interested in the detail now, they might need to know it at some point down the line, and someone needs to understand and own the detail. Agreement on ownership of the detail is crucial during the handover stage because if no one owns it, it simply doesn’t get handed over
- Leave a clear handover trail
As has been noted above, it’s not practical or even possible, to record everything you need to know to handover. But for the most important parts of the hand over – the key assumptions, the maintenance, the vessel’s condition, the final report – having a really clear audit trail is really important. In this respect a successful handover is really a process that starts at day 1 of the employment. Not only does a clear maintenance program act as a record of your achievements, it provides a reference point for the relieved officer in the future, and future proofs our work to ensure it can have a lasting impact.
In summary, a successful handover is as important as the deliverables should not be an afterthought. Embedding a culture of successful handover in management consultancy work is essential to delivering long lasting impact for clients.
