How to design efficient handoff processes between teams

Identify every point where work transfers between people or teams: sales to implementation, development to QA, customer success to support, marketing to sales. Document: what triggers handoff, what information transfers, who''s responsible on each side. Handoffs are high-risk points for: information loss, delays, quality issues, finger-pointing. Visibility enables improvement.

Receiving team needs to know: what constitutes complete handoff vs. insufficient. Document required: deliverables, data/information, quality standards, documentation. Example: "Sales can hand to implementation only with: signed contract, technical requirements doc, customer contact info, timeline expectations." Clear criteria prevent "this isn''t ready" rejections and re-work.

Template what transfers at each handoff: forms capturing critical information, checklists ensuring nothing forgotten, shared documents both teams access. Standardization prevents: relying on tribal knowledge, different quality depending on who does handoff, critical details in someone''s head. If it''s not documented, it doesn''t transfer reliably.

Define mutual commitments: upstream team delivers complete work meeting criteria by date/time, downstream team begins work within specified time, both teams respond to questions within SLA. SLAs create accountability on both sides. No more "we handed it off, not our problem." Handoff is shared responsibility requiring coordination.

For complex handoffs, synchronous transition is valuable: brief meeting where upstream team explains context, answers questions, clarifies ambiguity, introduces key contacts. Meeting investment prevents: days of back-and-forth questions, misunderstandings requiring rework, downstream team stuck waiting for context. Rich communication for complex transitions, documentation for routine ones.

Handoffs in email or spreadsheets create blind spots. Use systems where: both teams see work status, handoff triggers notifications, history and context preserved, nothing lost in transition. Project management tools, CRM systems, ticketing platforms provide shared visibility. Transparency prevents handoffs from becoming black boxes.

Track handoff metrics: time in handoff limbo, handoffs rejected for incompleteness, rework required post-handoff. Survey both sides: what''s working? what''s frustrating? Regularly review and refine: acceptance criteria, documentation, SLAs. Handoff process should evolve based on experience. What worked at 10 customers may not work at 100.