The Hand-Off Hustle
- doable HQ
- Jun 16
- 2 min read
You know those sessions where you are either changing roles, taking on more, or being taught a new development at work, but the trainer, usually a coworker just like you, is throwing information at you at the speed of light? They pretend kindness, and may even be genuinely kind on the first day, but it diminishes minute by minute. Their tone becomes stilted, signaling that they are not open to many questions and not interested in teaching you step by step, which later leads to frustration, anxiety, and dread because you know you will have to retrain yourself while trying to complete the new work successfully and still keep up with your old tasks.
We are smiling and nodding because we knew you would recognize that moment. Still, we hope you were not the hand-off hustler. Do not worry, we will not hold it against you, nor will we tattle; at least not yet… But if you are the guilty party, and your thought process is, “Well, I am not the one being force-fed, so there is no harm to me or my future,” then, my fellow professional, you are not quite right. How you are perceived by that one trainee will determine how you metamorphose in that employee’s eyes, and remember, roles change. That alone is one of the many factors to consider.
And here is another crucial point, the hand-off hustle erodes the structure of the business. It creates guesswork, errors, and gossip, all of which affect the thinking, feeling, and doing parts of a business. It shuts down room for questions and follow-up because the trainee becomes uncomfortable. The work begins to feel like an insurmountable burden and a future friction point because it may never be taught properly. Trainees often teach the next person in the same rushed manner that was handed to them. The structure erodes because confidence erodes and the doing becomes incorrect.
Since we have had first-hand experience with the hand-off hustle, here are some ways to mitigate it:
Ensure trainer capacity: Ensure the trainer has enough time and is comfortable training someone. Remove some of their workload or extend their deadlines so they have better thinking, doing, and feeling room.
Coordinate the handoff : Plan how trainees will be onboarded. This prepares both trainer and trainee so one is ready to properly hand off, and the other is ready to thoroughly receive.
Establish a training program: A structured program becomes the foundation for every future training. It reinforces the business’s investment in its employees and empowers the people who keep the business running.
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