When One Person Knows the System and Leaves the Company…

In many small to mid-sized businesses, there’s often that one person who holds the keys to a custom spreadsheet, legacy application, or complex internal process. They know how it works, how to fix it, and what to do when it breaks. But what happens when that person leaves?

They retire, take another job, or simply go on an extended vacation, and the absence of that individual causes serious disruptions. Systems stall. Teams scramble. Productivity dips. And in some cases, critical operations grind to a halt.

Let’s talk about the risks of relying too heavily on one person and how to protect your business from unexpected knowledge loss.

The Risks of Tribal Knowledge

“Tribal knowledge” refers to information that’s never been documented, known only to a single person or a few individuals. This might include:

• How to use or maintain a custom-built Access database
  

• Which formulas were used to build an Excel reporting system
  

• How to run weekly financial reports from a legacy tool
  

• What steps are needed to reset or reboot a fragile workflow
  

While this can work for a while, it creates a fragile dependency that grows riskier over time.

Common Scenarios That Create Bottlenecks

Here are some common examples we see at Sovereign Systems:

• A long-time employee built a series of Excel workbooks to manage inventory, sales, or payroll. No one else fully understands the logic behind them.
  

• A former IT manager wrote a custom script or tool that runs critical reports, but the code was never documented.
  

• A department relies on a manual process with dozens of small steps, and only one person knows the order or logic.
  

These systems tend to evolve quietly over the years. Until something breaks… or someone leaves.

The Cost of Unshared Knowledge

When one person becomes the system expert, you’re placing your business continuity at risk. The impact can include:

• Delayed operations and lost productivity
  

• Inability to generate key reports or access vital information
  

• Emergency troubleshooting that eats into IT resources
  

• Expensive consultants brought in to reverse-engineer undocumented tools
  

Even if someone can figure it out eventually, the cost in time, money, and lost momentum is significant.

How to Prevent a Single Point of Failure

The good news: you don’t have to wait for a problem to act. Here’s how to start building resilience now.

1. Document Everything

Have your team document key systems, tools, workflows, and processes. Include:

• Where the system lives
  

• Who uses it
  

• What it does
  

• How it works
  

• Common failure points or workarounds
  

Even basic documentation is better than none.

2. Involve More Than One Person

Cross-train employees on critical processes so knowledge isn’t siloed. Rotate responsibilities when possible. This protects your business and reduces burnout.

3. Assess Your Systems

Identify tools or workflows that rely on custom code, spreadsheets, or legacy platforms. Are they documented? Supported? Scalable? If not, they may need modernization.

What Do I Do if They’ve Already Left?

If this has already happened to your business—if the one person (or company) who built or managed your system is gone and no one else knows how it works—you’re not stuck. This is exactly where Sovereign Systems can step in. We offer custom software support to help you get your arms around what’s there, document what matters, and either maintain or modernize it so you’re not left in the dark. We’ve helped businesses untangle messy handoffs before, and we’re here to help you move forward with confidence.

Let’s get the train back on the tracks together. Contact us today to start the conversation.