"Everything rests on one person"
This is a classic risk concentration point (in IT it is called the bus factor): if a key employee leaves, falls ill or is simply on holiday while decisions, contacts and knowledge depend on them, the business loses control. We cover a real example of such a failure in the case "What a day of downtime costs".
How to reduce the risk
- Document knowledge. Key processes, contacts, access — not in someone's head but in a shared base.
- Duplicate competencies. Every critical function should have a second person able to pick it up.
- Separate access rights. So that one person leaving does not block systems and accounts.
- Plan succession for critical roles.
- Add the scenario to the continuity plan: what we do in the first days after a key person leaves.
Quick check: write down 3 people without whom the business would "stop". Next to each — who backs them up and where their knowledge is stored. The empty cells are your risk.
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FAQ
What is the bus factor?
It is the number of people whose loss would stop a project or process. A bus factor of 1 means everything rests on one person — the most dangerous case.
Where to start reducing the risk?
With documenting knowledge and duplicating competencies for critical functions, so that the departure or absence of one employee does not block work.
Evgeny Telenkov
Chief Risk Officer · PhD in Economics · "Best Risk Manager of Russia 2020"
20 years in risk management. Led risk management at Beeline, Nornickel, Rosneft and EY. Built business continuity plans for Nornickel, Rostec, NSD and DIA. Trained 300+ risk and BCM specialists.