The Handoff Checklist – Mathew's Library

01 What a handoff is, and why it goes first

In October 2026, Kroger said it plans to cut about 3,000 office jobs over three years. In the lines reporters quoted from the CEO's memo, he says the company has more layers, more handoffs and more overhead than it needs.

A handoff is work that only exists to move work to the next desk. It sits inside almost every job, which is why it's the first place software helps.

The status update someone rewrites every week for the next person. The number typed from one system into another. The approval that's really a third approval of the same thing.

What they share: the same steps, every time. That's a pattern, not a job title.

02 The three questions

Kroger's chief digital officer, Yael Cosset, said the goal is not autonomy everywhere: the right level of AI depends on risk, repeatability and the need for human judgment. Turned into questions you can ask about any task:

If this is wrong, what breaks? (risk) A wrong internal note is a small fix. A wrong number sent to a client is not. Is it the same steps every time? (repeatability) If you could write the steps on a card, it repeats. Does it need a person's judgment, or a relationship? (judgment) A decision about trust, or a conversation someone relies on.

The task is Who does it

Same steps, low risk AI can run it

Same steps, real risk AI drafts, a person checks

Judgment or a relationship A person does it, AI helps

Kroger hasn't said this is how it chose its cuts. It is a clear rule for which work AI should touch.

03 Map one week

List the work your team repeats every week. Reports, updates, data entry, approvals, follow-ups.

Ask the three questions about each task. Risk, same steps, judgment or a relationship.

Count every handoff. Every time the work moves from one person or one tool to the next.

Mark each step with its row from the table. Runs alone, drafts and checks, or stays with a person.

One task, mapped

Task: [NAME OF THE RECURRING WORK]
How often: [WEEKLY / DAILY]
Steps and who does them:
1. [STEP] by [PERSON OR TOOL]
2. [STEP] by [PERSON OR TOOL]
3. [STEP] by [PERSON OR TOOL]
Handoffs (times it moves to the next person or tool): [NUMBER]
If it's wrong, what breaks? [ANSWER]
Same steps every time? [YES / NO]
Needs judgment or a relationship? [YES / NO]
Row: [AI RUNS IT / AI DRAFTS, A PERSON CHECKS / A PERSON DOES IT, AI HELPS]

04 A worked example: the weekly client report

A team of six sends one client a report every week:

Someone pulls numbers from three tools. Someone pastes them into a document. The account manager rewrites the summary. The owner approves it.

That's four people and three handoffs. Run the three questions:

The pull: same every week, low risk. Software runs it. The summary: same shape, but it goes to a client. AI drafts, a person checks. The call where you explain a bad month: a relationship. It stays human.

05 Name where the hours go, first

Kroger named where its savings go in the same memo that announced the cuts: lower prices and its store staff. A small company usually doesn't need the layoff at all. Its real limit is time, not headcount. If you can't name where your freed hours go, they turn into more meetings.

Write this before you automate

When [TASK] stops taking [HOURS] a week, those hours go to:
[ ] Faster replies to [WHO]
[ ] More customer calls: [HOW MANY] a week
[ ] The project nobody has had time for: [NAME IT]
Owner of this commitment: [PERSON]
Check it on: [DATE, FOUR WEEKS FROM NOW]

Do it this week. Map one recurring task with the block in section 3, then fill in this one before you change anything.

Sources

Grocery Dive: Kroger to cut 3K corporate jobs over the next 3 years Reuters (via KSL): Kroger plans to eliminate 3,000 corporate roles, memo shows Blue Book: Kroger details AI strategy built on decades of retail experience

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