Make coverage an agreement
Backup ownership is different from copying another person into a message. The backup needs to know which requests they are covering, for what period, and what action is expected. They also need appropriate access to the working record.
Avoid making the entire office “the backup.” Choose a responsible person for the next action, with an agreed route for exceptions. A small team may nominate the business owner; a larger team may use a supervised coverage role. Either way, somebody must accept the handoff.
Atlassian’s roles and responsibilities exercise separates primary ownership from backup contributions and makes unclaimed work explicit. This guide applies that general principle to temporary customer-follow-up coverage.
Walk through a Friday handoff
Fictional example: Priya is away Friday. An estimate revision is due to Morgan that morning. Luis agrees to cover the request, but can only confirm the existing scope; a price change still needs the owner’s approval.
Before leaving, Priya links the current estimate, records the requested revision and names the person who can approve the change. Luis accepts the Friday action. The working record now shows Luis as the current action owner and Priya as the usual relationship contact.
If approval does not arrive, Luis does not invent a price or mark the work complete. He follows the agreed escalation route and records the unresolved decision. Customer communication should reflect what is actually known and any commitments the business has authorized.
Fill in a coverage card
On a small screen, swipe or scroll sideways to read the full table.
| Field | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Coverage window | Start, end and the relevant time zone or staffed hours |
| Included work | Which request references and next actions are covered |
| Current owner | Who accepts each action during the window |
| Current state | Latest customer instruction, promise and unresolved question |
| Decision authority | What the backup may decide, and what needs approval |
| Access | Whether the backup can see the necessary record through their own authorized access |
| Exception route | Who handles missing information, conflicting instructions or unavailable approval |
| Return handoff | When and how the usual owner accepts the remaining work |
Keep customer details in the appropriate working system. The coverage sheet can point to those records rather than duplicating private information. Do not solve missing access by sharing a password or forwarding an entire inbox.
Handle an absence you could not plan
Agree in advance who can review unowned or overdue actions if someone is unexpectedly unavailable. The review should establish the latest known state before another person contacts the customer. Otherwise the backup may repeat a question that was already answered or promise something that was already declined.
If nobody is available, record the gap and escalate it to the person responsible for staffing or service commitments. A backup label is not a promise of around-the-clock coverage. Set response expectations that the team can actually support.
Contact preferences and restrictions continue to apply during coverage. The handoff changes responsibility; it does not create permission to use a new channel or disregard an existing instruction.
Hand work back deliberately
At the end of coverage, compare three things: actions completed, decisions still open and promises made while the usual owner was away. The returning owner accepts what remains. Do not silently reassign everything at midnight if nobody has reviewed it.
For the fictional estimate, Luis records whether the revision was approved and whether it was provided. Priya can then pick up the next action with the right context instead of restarting the conversation.
- Can the backup explain the next action without asking the absent person?
- Can they identify what they cannot approve?
- Can they find the latest customer instruction and relevant restrictions?
- Can the returning owner tell which work still needs attention?
Use these questions in a paper rehearsal before relying on the arrangement. Keep the coverage agreement short enough that people will actually use it.