Summarise the request in one sentence
Start with what the customer needs, not a retelling of the entire thread. “Customer needs a revised delivery date before confirming the order” is more useful than “Many emails about the order”.
Include an identifier when your process uses one, but avoid copying sensitive material into places with broader access. Keep the original conversation as the reference rather than creating several competing summaries.
Capture five pieces of context
A consistent handover makes it easier to notice what is missing. Use the same small set of fields across the team. Keep each answer short enough that a colleague can understand it during a busy shift.
- Request: what outcome does the customer need?
- Last promise: what did we say we would do, and by when?
- Current position: what has already been checked or completed?
- Next action: what information or decision is still needed?
- Ownership: who takes over, with what review time?
Separate customer promises from internal targets
An internal reminder is not automatically a promise made to the customer. Record both clearly when they differ. For example, a team may aim to check availability before lunch while having promised a customer an update by the end of the day.
If the promised time can no longer be met, make communicating that change an explicit action. Otherwise the receiving colleague may complete the internal task and still miss the customer’s expectation.
Use a small worked example
Consider a fabricated enquiry about a delayed replacement. The outgoing colleague has asked the warehouse for confirmation but has not received it. The customer was promised an update tomorrow morning.
A useful handover would say: “Replacement dispatch date needed. Warehouse contacted today; confirmation pending. Priya owns the next step: chase at 9 am and update the customer by 11 am. If there is no confirmation, ask the coverage lead to escalate.”
This example defines a request, dependency, owner and time without claiming that the delivery date is known. Your team can adapt the fields to support, sales or supplier coordination.
Check access before the shift changes
A well-written handover fails if the next colleague cannot open the conversation. Confirm access while both colleagues are available. Also confirm whether they can reply from the expected address or need another approved route.
For delegated Gmail, consult Google’s current access instructions. Provider access and conversation responsibility are different decisions: gaining access to a mailbox does not by itself identify which requests a person owns.
Close the loop after the handover
Ask the receiving colleague to confirm the next action in their own words for complex cases. For routine requests, a clear acceptance within your normal workflow may be enough. Choose a method the team can actually maintain.
During the next review, check whether the customer received the promised update. That outcome matters more than the existence of a long handover note. When reviewing Letterlo, use this checklist as an onboarding scenario and confirm which collaboration features are available in the agreed rollout.
Questions teams ask
How long should a handover be?
Long enough to identify the request, last promise and next action. Start with five short fields, then add context only when it changes what the next colleague should do.
Should internal notes be sent to customers?
Keep internal coordination in the approved internal location. Check the audience before posting; an internal handover is not a customer reply.
What if the receiving colleague lacks access?
Resolve the access gap through the authorised administrator or select another approved owner. Do not share passwords or copy customer mail into an unrestricted channel.
Sources and further reading
Primary documentation checked on 2026-11-07. Provider features and availability can change.
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