Before the owner’s last day
Testimonial Program Handover When Staff Leave
The person who ran your testimonials hands in their notice. They know which customers promised a video, which quote the CEO asked to keep off the homepage, and why one widget shows only three reviews. None of it is written down. Work through this checklist with them before their last day, so the program keeps running after they go.
- Access moved before the leaver’s account closes
- Open requests and promises listed
- Unwritten rules turned into notes
The problem, solved
What leaves with the person who ran it
Only they could log in
The account was set up on their work email. When IT closes it, the library is locked behind a dead inbox.
With StoryProof: Roles are on every plan, so add the new owner to the workspace and give them the role they need before the leaver’s access ends.
Customers promised a testimonial last week
Three customers said “yes, happy to” in replies to the leaver. Those threads go with the mailbox.
With StoryProof: Contacts and smart lists are on every plan, so move every promised customer into a list the new owner can see and send to.
Reminders were sent by hand
The leaver chased every request personally. Without them, nobody chases.
With StoryProof: From Pro, follow-ups remind non-replies twice on a fixed schedule and stop when a customer responds, so chasing no longer depends on one person.
Submissions pile up unapproved
In the weeks between owners, new testimonials arrive and sit unread.
With StoryProof: Nothing goes public until someone approves it, so a gap in ownership delays publishing but never publishes the wrong thing. Name who clears the queue.
Nobody knows why widgets look like this
One widget leaves out a big customer. Was it a request from the customer, or an accident?
With StoryProof: You choose which testimonials appear in each widget. Ask the leaver to tag the deliberate exclusions with the reason, so the choice survives them.
Flip the switch to see how StoryProof handles each one.
Handover checklist
Hand over the testimonial program
Go through it with the leaver in one meeting, ideally in their second-to-last week, then let the new owner finish it alone.
Your ticks stay in this browser tab only. Copy the summary into the handover document.
A handover note, filled in
Illustrative sample, not a real company
Owner from {date}: {new owner}. Admin access also held by {second admin}.
Promised but not yet received: {customer one} (agreed {date}, wants to record on a phone), {customer two} (written, after their renewal).
Deliberately excluded: {customer three}, asked to stay off the homepage, tagged “exclude homepage”.
Never ask: {customer four}, open dispute with finance.
- Queue
- Cleared on {date}
- Follow-ups
- Automated, no manual chasing
- Check-in
- Four weeks after handover
In StoryProof
Make the program portable in StoryProof
Most of this is worth doing long before anyone resigns.
- You will need
- A named new owner, even if temporary
- Time with the leaver before their last week
- 1
Add the new owner and a second admin
Brand spaces per account: Free 1, Starter 1, Pro 3, Agency 15. Seats per space: Free 1, Starter 3, Pro 5, Agency 10.
- 2
Move promises into contacts
Every customer who agreed to give a testimonial goes into a smart list, so the next request comes from the workspace, not a person.
- 3
Write reasons into tags
Exclusions and special cases become tags the new owner can read without asking anyone.
- 4
Hand chasing to automation
From Pro, follow-ups run on a schedule and skip anyone who unsubscribed.
- 5
Check the numbers together
Open the analytics dashboard with both owners so the new one knows what normal looks like.
What happens next: Run the checklist once a year even when nobody is leaving. If it takes more than an hour, too much still lives in one head.
Before you start
What a handover cannot rescue
Promises made outside any system
A verbal yes at a conference that nobody wrote down is gone. Ask the leaver for these specifically.
Seats depend on your plan
A second admin needs a seat. Check your plan’s seats before the leaver’s account is removed.
Relationships do not transfer by checklist
Customers who gave quotes because they liked the leaver may need a personal introduction to the new owner.
Copies outside StoryProof
Quotes pasted into decks and ads are not in the workspace. List them, or they will not be found again.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Short answers to what usually comes up next.
What if the person has already left?
Start with access: ask IT to keep their mailbox readable for a few weeks, then work through the "Work in flight" group from their sent items.
Should testimonial requests come from a shared address?
It helps a handover, but customers answer people. Many teams send from a named person and make sure a second person can see replies.
Do customers need to be told about the change?
Those with an open promise do. A short note naming the new contact keeps the commitment alive.
Is long leave different from leaving?
Only in the last group. Keep the leaver’s seat, but still make sure someone else can approve and send while they are away.
Still have a question? Ask the StoryProof team or book a demo.
Keep the program in the workspace, not one inbox
Roles, tags and smart lists let any owner pick up where the last one stopped.
Last updated 2026-11-06.