The Problem
Work crosses two people and three agents, with no set standard on how work should get done. No named owners, no agent boundaries.
The problem is not AI. It is because we did not design the shape of work.
Automating chaos does not create order. It helps people arrive at burnout faster.
A Handoff has Three Parts
Handover
The steps that stall while someone reassembles context others already had.
Keep
The decision that needs to be made before the output reaches a customer, a contract or a bill.
Check
Specified decision points with clear ownership and agent guardrails.
How it works
01.
Find the Workflow
Take the work your team repeats every week. Of those, the one that stalls waiting on a person rather than on information. Then the test: show the ticket, thread or row where it went wrong last week. If you cannot, choose a different workflow.
02.
Read it before you Build
Five yes or no questions on that workflow. One owner for the outcome. Rules written down rather than held in someone's head. Incentives that reward less work, not more. Thresholds instead of approving each instance. A name when the output is wrong.
Most teams pass two of the five.
03.
Map the Workflow
Each workflow has a trigger which starts it, inputs and steps required to execute it. Define 'what good looks like', and who it is handed of to once it's done.
Only after this is done do you leverage an automated workflow tool already inside a Microsoft or Google license you may already pay for and have never used.
What you get
A workflow that holds when the person who usually saves it is away.
Judgement kept where it earns you money, and protects you against risk.
A system you can hand to someone else, that actually drives productivity.