TOI - Transfer of Information

There is a conceptual lifecycle to the interim VP Engineering stints that I tackle. Upon joining the team I dive in to understand the technological and organizational issues; I insert myself as necessary in the day to day activities, dealing with internal engineering team issues, cross-functional communication and negotiation and also as part of the executive staff.

At some point, I participate in the recruiting of the long-term VPE. Once he/she starts we then decide what amount of overlap is optimal and we schedule a number of “Transfer of Info” (TOI) sessions. The objective is to quickly and constructively provide her/him with as much relevant background as possible in order to effect a seamless transition of responsibility.

By the time we hold the TOI sessions I’ve created a detailed outline of topics to cover. However, almost from day one of temporarily joining the company I have been mentally composing the list of TOI topics and sub-topics. Obviously there are a number of topics relevant to every company but the devil is in the details.

The order of topics covered can vary significantly depending on exactly what’s going on at the company during the VPE overlap, often dictated by upcoming meetings which the new VPE will attend. This is particularly true if said meetings involve customers or partners. In these cases it’s more important to provide context for the meeting and the products involved rather than cover all products to the same level of detail.

Each of the TOI sessions lasts around 2 hours and typically we’ll plan on a number of days involving one session in the morning with another in the afternoon. Two hours is about the point where information overload sets in, so limiting the length of the sessions works well. Given that I speak very quickly and that these meetings are intense and interactive it would be less productive to spend entire days on the TOI discussions. Additionally, the new VPE also needs to spend time and energy getting to know the other members of the team.

When possible I take the long-term VPE off-site for the TOI meetings in order to avoid interruptions but many times we just meet in a conference room. Each and every time I have done a VPE handoff I’ve received positive feedback from the new VPE so I am confident that this approach is both time efficient and effective in bringing the VPE up to speed quickly.