What is a Business Process Hand-off?

Hand-offs are the moments of communication between teams or individuals as they pass information and/or processes to one another.

In the context of the business process, the hand-off is the moment when the responsibility for a particular task passes from one person to another. It is also the moment when the process is at its most vulnerable. Things frequently can and do go wrong here. When people talk about poor communication or poor teamwork, chances are they are talking about hand-offs.

Handoffs present a great opportunity to make subtle improvements to your business. They are a not-so-complex solution to fix gaps in your systems as long as you comply with the key elements:

• Set clear expectations
• Communicate effectively
• Avoid assumptions
• Clarify doubts

Managing handoffs successfully will build a foundation for the efficiency and success of any process. Unfortunately, hand-offs often present challenges that can prove difficult to optimise.

Further Resources:

Read our guide to simple process mapping

Source: The Process Management Consultant, Process Improvement Handoffs