The Handover Checklist: Moving a Task Off Your Desk for Good

Delegated work drifts back to you when the handover leaves something only you know: what finished looks like, where things live, or when to ask. A good handover covers six things: the outcome, the steps, the access, the decisions your assistant can make alone, the rhythm, and how you will check. Write those down once and the task stays handed over.

Most owners have handed something over and quietly taken it back a month later. It is rarely the assistant's fault. This is the checklist that stops it happening.

Why handed over work comes back

• Nobody defined done. Your assistant finishes the task the way they understood it, it is not what you pictured, and fixing it feels quicker than explaining.

• Every decision has to come back to you. Without rules about what they can decide alone, "check with me" becomes the answer to everything, and the task is still yours in all but name.

• There is no check in. Small misses go unnoticed until they add up, and by then taking the task back feels safer.

The six part handover checklist

1. The outcome

One sentence on what finished looks like. Not "handle the inbox" but "by 10am every weekday, every new email is sorted, routine replies are sent, and anything that needs me is in one folder with a one line summary".

2. The steps

Record your screen while you do the task once, talking through what you are doing and why. Your assistant writes the steps from the recording. That written version becomes the process document you never had time to write.

3. The access

List every tool the task touches and give access before day one. Use delegated access where the tool allows it, and a shared password manager vault for the rest, so no password ever travels in an email or a chat.

4. The decision rules

Split decisions into three groups: what your assistant decides alone, what they decide and tell you afterwards, and what needs your approval first. For example, an assistant handling customer emails might answer delivery questions alone, offer a small goodwill gesture and tell you, and send every refund request to you. The limits are yours to set, and you can widen them as trust grows.

5. The rhythm

When is it due, and how often? Daily, weekly, or whenever something arrives. Put recurring tasks on a calendar so they do not rely on anyone remembering.

6. The check

Decide how you will know it is done without asking. A short end of day summary, a shared tracker, or a weekly fifteen minute review all work. Pick one and keep it.

Run the first one together

The quickest way to hand over a task is in three passes. The first time, you do it while your assistant watches. The second time, your assistant does it while you watch. The third time, they do it alone and you review the result. By then the rules are tested, the gaps are filled, and the task is theirs.

A handover template you can copy

Paste this into a document for each task you hand over:

• Task: the name of the task

• Finished looks like: one sentence

• Steps: link to the recording and the written steps

• Tools and access: every login the task needs

• Decide alone: the list

• Decide and tell me: the list

• Ask me first: the list

• When: the deadline and how often

• How I will check: summary, tracker or weekly review

Which tasks to hand over first

Start with work that ticks most of these boxes: it repeats every week, it follows rules more than judgement, a mistake is easy to put right, and it takes you more than half an hour a week. Scheduling, inbox sorting, updating your CRM, posting to social media, weekly reporting and routine customer replies are all good first candidates. If you want help choosing, our guide to what to hand an executive assistant in week one sets out a full first week.

Some tasks do not need a person at all

Before you hand a task to anyone, ask whether it could simply run on its own. Appointment reminders, follow up messages, nurture emails, pipeline updates and reporting can all be automated. The GoldStarVA CRM Suite handles that kind of work whether anyone is at a desk or not, and it comes with every GoldStarVA Virtual Assistant. A person for the judgement, and a system for the rest.

When a task keeps coming back

If the same mistake repeats after clear feedback, look at the handover first: the outcome, the rules and the check are usually where the gap is. If the handover is sound and it still is not working, talk to your Client Success Manager. With GoldStarVA, if the fit is ever wrong, we place again at no cost to you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need written processes before I hire an assistant?

No. Record yourself doing the task once and let your assistant write the steps. Most owners find this is the only way their processes ever get written down.

How long does it take to hand over a task?

Using the three pass method, a routine task is usually handed over by the third time it comes round. Tasks with more judgement in them take longer, and that is normal.

What should I never delegate?

Decisions only you can make about the direction of your business, and anything you are not yet ready to set clear rules for. Everything else can usually be handed over in stages.

Hand over more, starting this month

On a 45 minute discovery call, we go through the tasks eating your week and work out which belong with a person and which can run on their own.