5 Steps to Prepare Your Team for Extended Leave: Lessons from the National Museum of Women in the Arts & JCA

When a key staff member at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) went on extended leave, JCA provided interim staffing to maintain continuity in essential database operations. As a key member of the museum’s Tessitura user group, this staff member oversaw critical functions—from system configuration to day-to-day data integrity. By stepping into this vital role, JCA helped ensure that ticketing, development, and reporting functions remained seamless during their absence—minimizing disruption and supporting ongoing success.

Driving Change Through Art and Advocacy

Located in the heart of Washington, DC, NMWA is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women artists. Through groundbreaking exhibitions, educational programs, and advocacy, NMWA challenges gender disparities in the art world and serves as a global hub for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change.

“We were thrilled to work with this dedicated, passionate, and expert staff by filling in for this role,” said Andrew Moreau, Manager of Professional Services at JCA.

Key Steps to Ensure a Smooth Transition

The staff member going on leave did an excellent job setting up the organization for success by thoroughly preparing for their extended time out of the office. These thoughtful preparations are incredibly helpful to consider when planning out the daunting task of how your organization will continue on while you are away.

Here are steps to ensure continuity and set colleagues up for success before going on extended leave:

1. List and Delegate Responsibilities

• Brainstorm a comprehensive list of your recurring tasks, project responsibilities, and one-off items.
• Identify team members who can take over specific responsibilities—this may require assigning tasks to multiple people.
• Note any gaps in coverage that may need additional planning or support.

2. Use a Project Management Tool for Task Tracking

• Document your tasks and projects using tools like Asana, Trello, or Basecamp.
• Include due dates, instructions, and context—write tasks as if the reader has no prior knowledge.
• Grant your stand-in(s) editing access so they can update progress and reassign work if needed.

3. Document Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• Write clear, step-by-step instructions for your key responsibilities, tailored to the skill level of the person covering.
• Include:
  • How-to guides for recurring tasks
  • Links to helpful system documentation or FAQs
  • Examples of past work (e.g., email list queries, reports, templates)
• Focus on business context if your fill-in is already technically familiar with the tools.

4. Designate a Central Point of Contact

• Assign someone who can oversee your responsibilities holistically, even if multiple people are doing the work.
• This person can serve as the main contact for questions and should be included in your out-of-office messaging.

5. Assess and Secure Additional Resources

• Consider whether your team has the time and expertise to cover everything.
• If needed, explore temporary help. JCA offers expert interim staffing services, particularly for Tessitura, Raiser’s Edge, and Salesforce CRM.

This successful collaboration between JCA and NMWA highlights the importance of thoughtful preparation before an extended leave. Not only was business continuity maintained, but JCA and NMWA partnered together on process improvements based on discoveries made during the interim staffing work.

By clearly documenting responsibilities, leveraging project management tools, and designating a central point of contact, the departing staff member set their team—and JCA—up for success.

“I was preparing to be out for parental leave for five months and needed someone who was knowledgeable about both Tessitura and non-profit best practices. JCA took care of our monthly renewal and acquisition mailings while I was out, both generating the lists and helping with reporting afterwards.  When I came back everything had been taken good care of which made my transition back to work an easy one.”

A Blueprint for Managing Staff Leave

Whether your coverage plan involves internal staff or external support, like the partnership between JCA and NMWA, these best practices make a meaningful difference in ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing operational excellence. The steps listed in this article are very helpful to make our work efficient and reduce time needed to understand staffing needs.

Interim Database Administration for Tessitura, Raiser’s Edge & Salesforce

Experiencing staff turnover, a short-term leave, or just need extra bandwidth for a big project?

Our interim staffing specialists are here to help. We join your team to provide expert database administration, focusing on organizations using Tessitura, Raiser’s Edge, and Salesforce.

You’ll get the benefit of clean data, streamlined processes, and a stable, well-documented system and ensure minimal business interruption.