If you’ve heard of “Zeberpupin” chances are you’ve a Dilbert cartoon reader.
“Invented” by Wally, it appear to be a made-up computer system so that he doesn’t get fired – as he says, the word is “indispensable”.
So why are these cartoons about Zeberpupin relevant to business?
Does your company run a computer system or process that is reliant on a single person? What if they left? What if they suffered from a long term illness?
The situation is not good for the business or for the employee. The business is too reliant on one person and, whilst it might help secure the job future for the employee, it adds extra stress to them as any issues puts them as the focal point. If the business is 24×7 this can mean being on almost permanent call-out duty.
Now is the time to get that skill documented, even if it’s just the processes that you’d need to complete in the event of an emergency. And stop being a Wally!
The counterpoint is that there is both a risk and a reward for both the business and the employee.
Often there are people who can literally do the job of five people (jack of all trades sorts). Then there are also people who have such specialized knowledge or deep insight into a particular domain that they may simply be irreplaceable. Documenting “what these people do” is often the first step to driving them to work elsewhere. If you are worried about retaining these people, try paying them what they are worth, or better, granting them authority equivalent to their responsibility (ha! I’ve yet to see that in many businesses).
What if they left? What if you never had them in the first place? What would happen to Apple if Steve Jobs died?
The answer is always the same: you’ll just be another boring business doing stuff that anyone could do because no one working for you is too special.
Some excellent points there Cliff and yes there is a risk with trying to get work documented – something each business needs to judge on it’s merit…and risk.