Transition Plan Template

A transition plan is a document that outlines a series of steps, goals and timelines to help prepare for and manage change. There are many kinds of transition plans, but they all share core principles, such as starting the process early, creating individualized plans and providing support before and after the transition. The first step is to download this free transition plan template for Excel as it outlines the information needed to make that transition smooth and successful.

Why You Need a Transition Plan Template

A transition plan template is a reusable guide that provides a structure and framework for creating a unique transition plan. That can be for a role transition plan template, project transition plan template or any number of other situations when a transition plan is required. It can be set up quickly and avoids reinventing the wheel each time a transition plan is needed.

A transition plan template is a strategic plan that helps ensure a smooth transition from one thing to another. It minimizes disruptions and maintains quality, efficiency and progress. When using a well-structured transition plan template, teams can proactively identify and address potential risks and uncertainties.

Transition plans are used in many industries where a transition document template facilitates the goals of the transition. This can be self-awareness, as in a team member understanding their strengths and weaknesses, which supports their growth and success in the organization. Planning for transitions also minimizes problems that could occur in the organization, such as disrupting work.

Free transition plan template for Word — *Free transition plan template for Excel*

When to Use a Transition Plan Template

A transition plan template is a flexible tool that makes project shifts easier. The template can be used when a project moves from one phase to another, when the project manager is being switched out or when a new technology is implemented. In this case, the transition plan template includes a project overview, the impact of the transition and required resources, such as staffing and software.

Another time to use a transition plan template is when there’s a change in someone’s role or project. For example, when a team member leaves a role, a transition plan template can help managers organize tasks like who will take over the role, what duties will change and who to inform. It can also include exit interviews, feedback opportunities and workspace changes.

Regardless of whether someone is leaving their role or starting a new one, a transition plan template streamlines that process. Project managers use them to streamline the process of setting up actionable steps within the organization and guide that team member or employee to success. However, a transition plan template is only good for organizing the various elements of the transition plan. Project management software is a more efficient and effective way to execute it.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that turns the transition plan template into an actionable plan. With robust Gantt charts or the sheet view, which is a Gantt chart without the timeline, managers can organize the steps for the transition, including start and end dates and planned duration to keep the transition on track. Milestones can be added, and task dependencies linked to avoid delays. Then, set a baseline to track the transition in real time and ensure the process stays on schedule. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Who Should Use This Free Transition Plan Template?

There are many situations when a transition plan template is helpful. For example, employees resigning from an organization often go through a process defined by the transition plan template and facilitated by their manager and human resources. In this case, the facilitator, the employee and all staff impacted by the change would use the transition plan template.

Those involved in project transitions would also use this free transition plan template. It would help the team members who will be transferred to a new project as well as the project manager and any key stakeholders. New employees joining an organization or a project benefit from using a transition plan template as would business owners in the process of selling or buying a company.

The human resource department usually creates the transition plan template. Depending on the type of transition being enacted, the human resources department could be involved in the process or just responsible for distributing the paperwork.

How to Use This Transition Plan Template for Excel

Download the free transition plan template for Excel and open the document. This fully customizable spreadsheet is already outlined with the basic information that should be captured to facilitate a smooth transition from one role to another. It’s broken up into sections, which are as follows.

The top section is for general transition information such as the name of the team member who is transitioning, the date they’ll exit the role and who will succeed them. That current role is then identified, as well as what the new role will be and the current role of the person taking their place. The current supervisor is noted, a new supervisor is listed, if needed and the successor’s current supervisor is also listed. The person leaving the role’s current department and new department are added as well as the current department of the successor.

Role Accountability and Expectation

This section communicates the goals and vision of the transition and sets SMART objectives, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. They should align with the vision and goals of the transition and be key performance indicators (KPIs).

Knowledge Transfer

The next section defines the process of passing down organizational and technical knowledge from an incumbent to a successor. This can include information about the role’s responsibilities, organizational culture and processes, key relationships, project priorities, or knowledge of how to use specific software. This allows for a smooth transition, keeps institutional knowledge in one place and promotes a learning culture.

Role Checklist

This is where a list of the tasks and details of those tasks are listed to provide the person stepping into the role vacated by the incumbent with a thorough understanding of what they’ll be responsible for. This is a handoff of responsibilities from the departing team member to the person entering the project team or the current team member taking on that incumbent’s role.

Additional Plan Information

Any details that don’t fit in the above sections of the transition plan template are collected here. This can include impact on staff, policies or procedures, changes in the role’s job description, etc.

At the end of the transition plan template are signature lines and dates for the incumbent, and the supervisor responsible for overseeing the transfer of those responsibilities.

How to Manage Transition Plans With ProjectManager

While a transition plan template captures important information, it is not designed to facilitate the actual transition. However, ProjectManager can help set up a timeline, manage resources, collaborate and monitor the transition all in real time. This is an advantage over the static transition plan template whether the role is being changed in the office or for a remote worker. Follow these steps to learn how ProjectManager streamlines the transition and gives everyone more control by starting a free trial today.

1. Make a Timeline

The transition plan template has many purposes, one is to set up actionable steps to manage the transition smoothly. These steps are tasks and they’ll need to be organized. As noted above, they can be listed on the Gantt chart, with start and end dates. Once these are added to the spreadsheet side of the Gantt chart, they automatically populate a timeline to the right, with task bars representing the duration of each task. This provides an overview of the transition and even can track its progress. The percent each task bar is shaded indicates how close to completion the task is.

2. Assign Tasks & Allocate Resources

Each task needs resources to be executed and completed. Resources can be anything from human resources, such as team members, to software, funding, equipment and more. Once these tasks are added to the Gantt, they can be assigned to specific team members and the resources, both human and nonhuman, are allocated. The associated project costs are also added to help keep to the budget.

Gantt chart tracking resources in ProjectManager

3. Collaborate Online

Teams can work in the same office or in different time zones. Regardless of where they are, our software provides a collaborative platform that makes it as easy to work together as if they were in the same room. That’s because teams can share files and there’s unlimited file storage, which means all important transitional documents are in one place and easy to access with the global search. Team members can also comment at the task level and stay updated on changes or new tasks with email and in-app notifications.

4. Monitor Progress and Costs

The Gantt chart isn’t the only tool to measure progress with the transition plan. Get a high-level overview with the real-time dashboard, which automatically collects live data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that display KPIs such as time, cost, workload and more. Secure timesheets can also be used to track labor costs to ensure that the transition plan doesn’t go over budget.

What Other Templates Can Help With Transition Planning?

For those not ready to upgrade to project management software, there are plenty of free templates that can help with transition planning. Download over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover every phase of managing a project across multiple industries. Here are a few free templates that can be used in transition planning.

Change Impact Assessment Template

A change impact assessment is used to understand how change will impact the people, processes and projects that they’re involved in. Use this free change impact assessment template for Excel before developing a transition plan to ensure the change is for the best.

Action Plan Template

A transition plan template is going to produce steps that will facilitate the process of changing, whatever that change might be. This action plan template for Excel visualizes those steps and breaks tasks into subtasks, including priority, phase, assigned to and status.

Implementation Plan Template

To move from the current state to the future state requires a transition plan template, but to map out those steps to deliver requires this free implementation plan template for Excel. The free template lists all tasks, timelines and resources to get the work done.