Agency Context Handover Rituals

Category: Academy · Stage: Scale

By Max Beech, Head of Content

Updated 18 August 2025 · Expert review: [PLACEHOLDER: Managing Partner, Agency Collective]

Why it matters: Agency clients expect continuity even when teams rotate. The IPA’s 2024 Agency Census shows staff churn hovering around 32%, so handovers must be ritualised.^[1]^

      - What do agency context handover rituals cover?

      - How do you run the handover inside Chaos?

      - How do you protect teams during transitions?

    

  
  
    

TL;DR

      - Use Chaos to assemble briefs, budgets, and approvals from the [creative operations workflow](/blog/creative-operations-workflow).

      - Run a live handover call with a shared storyboard, capturing Q&A in the [decision log](/blog/decision-log-workflow).

      - Schedule wellbeing nudges and [recovery breaks](/blog/dopamine-break-menu) so teams don’t burn out.

    

  
  

Chaos handover board showing briefs, KPIs, and open risks.

What do agency context handover rituals cover?

Cover four pillars: business objectives, creative strategy, live production, and stakeholder nuances. Each pillar links to files in Chaos, so the incoming team doesn’t hunt across drives. Include finance data and upcoming demo dates.

How do you run the handover inside Chaos?

Schedule a 60-minute Chaos call. The outgoing lead walks through a storyboard while recording the session for posterity. Questions drop straight into the handoff template, and approvals are logged in the decision board.

How do you protect teams during transitions?

Assign backup owners and schedule load-balancing check-ins. Pair the handover with incident warmups so teams can rehearse escalation paths. Encourage rest periods using the dopamine break menu so creativity doesn’t suffer.

Key takeaways

      - Structure handovers around four pillars and record them inside Chaos.

      - Make Q&A searchable by logging everything in the handoff template.

      - Protect energy levels with wellbeing nudges and clear backup owners.

    

  
  
    

Next steps

      - Clone the Chaos handover board and populate the four pillars.

      - Run a pilot handover on a low-risk account and capture feedback.

      - Roll out the ritual agency-wide, including wellbeing guardrails.

    

  
  
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