We have an employee who clearly does not GWC their seat, but they are the only person who knows how to operate our legacy proprietary database. We want to replace them but are terrified of system downtime. What is our play?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You are currently being held hostage by a Right Person, Wrong Seat issue, and this is a dangerous vulnerability, especially if you are preparing for an exit. No single employee should have a monopoly on your operations. Keeping someone who does not GWC™ their seat or fit your core values destroys team morale and signals that performance standards do not apply to everyone.

To solve this, you must separate the technical risk from the people decision. First, identify the exact knowledge gap. Make documentation of the legacy database a critical, non-negotiable Rock for this quarter. If they refuse or stall, you have your answer, they must be transitioned out immediately with the help of an external database consultant.

Simultaneously, begin cross-training another team member or hire a fractional developer to shadow them and learn the system. Once the systems and processes are documented, you must make the hard RPRS call. Let them go and replace them with someone who actually gets, wants, and has the capacity to run the seat.

Remember that your company's charter must be built on trust and a commitment to strategy and structure. Allowing an unaligned employee to stay because of technical dependency is a failure of leadership. Protect your business, document the tribal knowledge, and make the change.