Handovers

[indiegirl]

Just a quick straw poll from you guys really. When you're going away on holiday, or even when you leave a place, do you provide a handover, and if so - to what extent?

 

[Geoff]

no. not required to do so.

[indiegirl]

Even if not required to leave a handover, I usually drop an email across, informing my NM what's outstanding and who might nag him for something in my absence (eg if I've not managed to get something done). I don't do it because I have to, I do it out of politeness.

 

I guess this brings another question: is it OK to drop everything like a stone and expect your colleagues to pick it up?

(specifically relating to holidays here)...

[plexer]

As all the jobs are in our job tracker I would assign them to who was left I suppose if there were ones that I weren't going to get done before I left.

 

Ben

[Geoff]

I guess this brings another question: is it OK to drop everything like a stone and expect your colleagues to pick it up?

 

There's at least two people who know system XYZ here. So if one of them is on holiday, ill or has a fatal accident 'picking it up' is a non-issue.

 

We're pro-rata. We don't work school holidays.

[NetworkGeezer]

Geoff,

 

Are you workmates also a geeky as you are? From other posts you give the impression that your set up is 'highly customised'.

[Sylv3r]

Yes, If I am going to be off on holiday I leave a big list of outstanding jobs that need to be complete and the Technicians just work through them and tick them off as they go.

[indiegirl]

As I'm from an 'industry' background, I always prepare a handover, written or email. It's just the one thing that I think is important - not keeping colleagues appraised of your work is, IMO, unfair on them.

 

The last thing I would want is someone to be busy and something to land on their desk that they didn't know about or haven't dealt with before (but I had).

(and in my situation, that can sometimes happen).

[NetworkGeezer]

Call me suspicious but why are you asking at all. Are you tempted no to

[Geoff]

Are you workmates also a geeky as you are? From other posts you give the impression that your set up is 'highly customised'.

 

Varying degrees of geekyness. But basically, there's at least 3 of us who can have a stab at any windows server stuff. Two or three (depending on the paticular area, one of the guys is still learning as I've mentioned) who can crack Linux problems/installs/whatever. Desktop support is fair game for all.

[russdev]

Desktop support is fair game for all.

 

Is that who ever cant hide the fastest

 

Russ

[GrumbleDook]

An email / written note for reference at least 2 days before and then on the day before a verbal conversation to flesh things out.

 

I have been dumped on before by people going on holiday and jobs being left undone ... and some have ended up causing nasty problems ... I keep promising myself that I would not get into that position again but now it is not support stuff I have to worry about but other things too.

[kingswood]

Desktop support is fair game for all.

 

Is that who ever cant hide the fastest

 

Russ

 

It's just plain weird really- but have you noticed that technicians can never hide fast enough ;-)

[john]

I always try to do an e-mail to the team so we know whats done and not done etc, I feel it polite to do so.

[webman]

I've been left to hold the fort on a couple of occassions, and since myself & the NM have a good working relationship I've always been informed of what's what.

 

It's just plain weird really- but have you noticed that technicians can never hide fast enough

 

Heh, I was called over the radio today by one of the site staff, asked where I was. So I replied then I got the "Okay, Mr. Such-and-such is on his way down to see you". Yeah, cheers...

[indiegirl]

Call me suspicious but why are you asking at all. Are you tempted no to

 

OK, I'll disclose. Of course I'm planning to leave a handover for my replacement, I started writing it four months ago, it's pretty much the bible of information that the school needs (as nothing's on paper anyway).

 

Yesterday, my NM flew out to India for a week and a half. Needless to say, Wednesday night came - I got: "see ya in a couple of weeks, I'm going on holiday, byeeeeeee" as he ran out of the door.

 

Yesterday morning, I had three separate teachers arrive in my office and say: "H was supposed to do X for me and he promised me that he'd have it done by Friday"... an all too common occurrence, and three things I didn't know that he'd been promising people.

 

Hence my thoughts that at the very least a verbal handover would've been nice, let alone a written one. I wondered if I was asking too much - hence the poll!

[TechMonkey]

We normally do a verbal brief before one of us goes, even if it is me on holiday and the NM staying, and then a verbal debrief when who ever gets back.

I see it as common courtesy, letting the other part of the team have a heads up what is around or might come flying at them.

[bossman]

I always run through everything that i have organised with personel with webman i expect him to do the same job as me so he should have the required information. So simple but effective.

[pete]

it depends

 

I don't take holidays in term time. PFY is term-time only. If I've had a day away on a course / visit, I'll give PFY a verbal run-down of things I have / haven't done that may affect things he needs to do or that other people will ask him about. Anything elaborate I usually write down or (if it's something he's not confident doing / shouldn't really do) ask him to tell people to wait - if it's urgent, it's already been done before I leave.

 

Until recently (it isn't pervasive enough, we kept forgetting to check it) we ran a bug-tracking system converted to tickets, so any important jobs were there for him to check the status of.

[SteveT]

There`s only me so when not here there is nothing done!

 

.... oh the lonliness

 

 

 

 

.... and the power :twisted:

[myanonaccount]

we all know where the list of jobs is so no need to leave notes. At the mercy of the NM if he decides his private secret list of jobs takes precedence.

[Geoff]

Yeah, having a helpdesk type system helps with this problem.