How do you run a knowledge transfer meeting during employee offboarding?
Run a knowledge transfer meeting by focusing on one domain per session, recording the conversation, and having the departing employee demonstrate their workflows live. Cover recurring tasks, escalation paths, key contacts, and undocumented decisions. The output should be written SOPs and a handover document — not just meeting notes.
How should you structure knowledge transfer sessions?
Schedule three to five 30-minute sessions over the employee's notice period. Each session covers a different area. One marathon session doesn't work — information overload means the successor retains almost nothing.
| Session | Focus Area | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Daily and weekly recurring tasks | Task list with SOPs for each |
| Session 2 | Tools, systems, and access | Access checklist and login docs |
| Session 3 | Key relationships and escalation paths | Stakeholder map with context |
| Session 4 | Edge cases and undocumented decisions | Decision log with rationale |
| Session 5 | Q&A and gap review | Updated handover document |
What should you do during each session?
Ask the departing employee to show, not tell. Have them screen-share and walk through each process while Glyde records the workflow. This captures steps the expert might skip when explaining verbally.
Three rules for productive knowledge transfer meetings:
- Record everything — Screen recordings become reference material. Written notes alone miss procedural details.
- Ask "what breaks?" — The most valuable knowledge is what goes wrong and how to fix it. Ask about common failures, workarounds, and things that look automated but actually require manual intervention.
- Assign action items — Each session should produce a documented SOP or updated handover section, not just a recording to "review later."
The successor should attempt each process independently before the departing employee's last day. Gaps surface quickly when someone tries to follow the documentation without help.
This answer is part of our guide to capturing and preserving team knowledge.