Every business has that one employee. The person who knows how to fix the ancient printer, knows which vendor will answer after 5 p.m. and how to get them to do so, knows where the old customer files live, and understands the nuances and preferences of your most loyal customers, including what not to do when they’re upset.

That employee can work through any role because they’ve been around long enough to know where all the bodies are buried. Figuratively, we hope!

They’re invaluable and you lean on them without thinking. They’re an integral part of your business and you can’t imagine working without them, but they’re also one of your biggest business risks.

Yes, they’re a great employee, and would never knowingly leave you in a lurch, but the problem occurs when critical knowledge lives entirely in one person’s head. If that employee gets another job, retires, becomes ill or is in an accident, takes an extended leave, or simply decides it’s time for a change, how much of your business walks out the door with them?

For many small businesses, the answer is uncomfortable.

The “Only Sam Knows How” Problem

Large companies usually have redundancy, documented processes, training programs, and entire departments built around continuity.

Small businesses often have “Sam.” Sam knows how everything works. That arrangement feels wonderfully efficient right up until Sam is unavailable. Somehow even ChatGPT doesn’t know what Sam does.

And the danger isn’t limited to highly technical jobs either. Institutional knowledge can include vendor contacts, software passwords, customer preferences, renewal dates, purchasing procedures, pricing history, equipment quirks, regulatory requirements, and dozens of small decisions employees make automatically because they have made them hundreds of times before.

That knowledge has business value. If it disappears, the company may lose productivity, customers, revenue, and time while everyone else tries to reconstruct how things were done.

Even if you don’t think Sam would leave without giving notice and training their replacement, there are times things happen unexpectedly, and that kind of institutional knowledge isn’t even something Sam knows to impart. An employee thinks about how to train their replacement in job responsibilities. They cannot train on that special relationship they have with your top vendor and it probably won’t occur to them to tell their replacement about the finicky printer and how to manage it.

Good employees should be valued precisely because of the experience and judgment they bring. But you want to ensure your business is resilient in those unexpected cases.

Start With the Jobs You Cannot Afford to Forget

Ask yourself:

If someone on our team couldn’t come to work, what would we struggle to do?

Don’t limit the exercise to senior employees/leadership.

Your receptionist may know more about customer behavior than anyone else in the company. Your warehouse manager may have developed an informal inventory system nobody has ever documented. Your bookkeeper may know which customers require special invoicing procedures.

Identify the processes where knowledge is concentrated in one person.

Then start documenting them.

Don’t create a 200-page operations manual that nobody will read. In most situations, a checklist, shared document, short screen recording, or simple step-by-step guide is enough.

Document things such as:

• recurring tasks and deadlines
• passwords and system access procedures
• important vendor and customer contacts
• billing and purchasing procedures
• software instructions
• equipment maintenance
• regulatory or compliance responsibilities
• common problems and how they are handled.

You want to create a business someone else can successfully step into.

Cross-Train Before You Need To

Documentation helps, but people learn by doing. Whenever possible, have at least one additional employee understand the basics of critical responsibilities. You don’t want your company to grind to a halt because one person is unavailable or gone.

Cross-training can also reveal inefficiencies. When someone explains a process to another employee, you may discover that six steps exist simply because nobody has questioned them in eight years.

Build Your Bench Strength Before You Need It

There’s another side to succession planning: knowing where to find people when you need them. Your local chamber of commerce can become an important resource for this. Chambers connect businesses with other employers, workforce organizations, colleges, training providers, staffing professionals, and community leaders. They may offer job boards, workforce programs, referrals, leadership development opportunities, networking events, or introductions that help employers expand their talent pipeline. Those relationships can make finding the right person significantly easier.

Even if you don’t need someone now, get to know your community. See who’s working in similar areas. Know who could become your next star. Stay connected.

But finding a strong candidate is only half the equation.

Even the perfect new employee will struggle if the person they’re replacing left behind no instructions, passwords, processes, contacts, or context.

Recruitment and continuity have to work together.

Your Business Should Know What Your Employees Know

Great employees are one of a small business’s greatest assets. The smartest companies don’t try to reduce their importance. They capture and share enough of their knowledge so the organization can continue operating when change inevitably comes.

Think of it as protecting the investment you’ve made in your people.

Your chamber and local business community can help you build relationships, develop talent, and connect with potential employees when the time comes.

Your job is to make sure the next person doesn’t have to solve a mystery on their first day.

Because sooner or later, every business undergoes transition. The best time to prepare for it is while Sam is still in the building.

Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Glinda Principle, rediscovering the magic within.
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