“Everything depends on one person”
This is a classic point of risk concentration (in IT it is called the bus factor). If a key employee leaves, falls ill or is simply on holiday, and decisions, contacts and knowledge depend on them, the business loses control. A real example of such a failure is in the case study “What a day of downtime costs”.
How to reduce the risk
- Document knowledge. Key processes, contacts and access rights belong in a shared knowledge base, not in someone’s head.
- Cross-train people. Every critical function should have a second person who can take over.
- Split access rights. Then one person leaving does not block systems and accounts.
- Plan succession for critical roles.
- Include the scenario in the business continuity plan: what we do in the first days after a key person leaves.
Frequently asked questions
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 that everything depends on one person. This is the most dangerous case.
Where do you start reducing the risk?
Start by documenting knowledge and cross-training people in critical functions, so that the departure or absence of one employee does not block work.
From the risk register to management decisions
Check whether your risks reach the people who make decisions. The dashboard shows the status on one screen; the turnkey system makes it work in practice.
