“We need to ask him/her about that.”

This is a phrase frequently heard in sustainability departments. Each time a key person is reassigned or leaves, the organization falls into confusion, and progress stalls. Many companies struggle under this invisible trap called individual dependency.

But individual dependency is not simply a state where “only one person can do the job.”
Its underlying structure consists of three intertwined problems:

(1) Unwritten tasks
The procedures and decision criteria exist only in a person’s head. Because nothing is documented, handover becomes impossible.

(2) Processes dependent on tacit knowledge
Methods such as “when to collect which data” or “how to coordinate with a certain department” are not formalized. Work continues to rely on personal experience and intuition.

(3) The assumption that “as long as that person is here, we’re fine”
Although the person may seem highly reliable, the organization becomes extremely vulnerable. Once they are absent, operations stop and nobody can respond to external inquiries.

Individual dependency is not the fault of employees. It reflects a lack of organizational systems. A structure that relies solely on individuals will eventually hit its limit.

The Fundamental Cause of Individual Dependency: Lack of Documentation

Why does individual dependency occur? Because processes simply aren’t documented.

Common issues seen in sustainability operations include:

Lack of rules
There are no up-to-date rules for collecting environmental data, requesting supplier information, or preparing reports, leaving decisions to each person’s judgment.

No manuals
Concrete instructions — how to calculate CO₂ emissions, how to answer EcoVadis questions — are not written. New staff must struggle through trial and error to figure things out again from scratch.

No documented processes
Approval flows and interdepartmental involvement are unclear. Only the assigned person sees the whole picture and ends up doing all coordination.

Unclear governance and responsibilities
Who is accountable? Who executes? Who approves? Without clarity, dependency on “the person who knows” becomes permanent.

These gaps prove there is no system — and without a system, reliance on individuals becomes inevitable. Unless the cycle is broken, the same problem repeats every time personnel changes occur.

External Assessments Expose Individual Dependency Mercilessly

Individual dependency often remains hidden internally — until external assessments reveal it. EcoVadis, CDP, and other sustainability evaluators always require evidence: Policies, procedures, approval records, implementation reports.

Why? Because they evaluate systems, not individual competence.

A verbal explanation like “we do have an environmental policy” is meaningless unless:

• it is formally documented,
• properly approved, and
• communicated internally.

If there is no evidence, evaluators conclude there is no system. Information scattered in personal inboxes or memories has zero value in external reviews. External assessments highlight organizational vulnerability in the harshest way — and creating documentation in a rush simply won’t be enough.That’s why the time to address individual dependency is before evaluation.

The Solution: Structural Design + Process Decomposition

To eliminate individual dependency, two approaches are essential:

Return tasks to processes

What is perceived as “what ○○ does” is actually a series of process steps.

Example: Collecting environmental data involves:

• sending requests in a standard format
• setting deadlines and sending reminders
• validating input and returning errors
• calculating emissions using defined formulas
• reporting results and obtaining approval

Documenting these steps ensures repeatability — regardless of who is in charge.

Return processes to documents

Develop a documentation system including:

• Process maps — who does what and when
• Manuals & SOPs — step-by-step instructions
• Forms/templates — standardized requests and reports
• Role definitions — clear responsibility and accountability

The shift becomes: From dependency on individuals → dependency on processes

This does not reduce a person’s value — instead, it elevates them to improve systems and focus on higher-level work.

What Changes With Neuromagic’s Support

Neuromagic focuses on documentation architecture and systemization:

• Documentation design
  We identify missing documentation and organize workflows, manuals, templates, and role definitions — making operations visible and accessible.

• Systemization that withstands evaluation
  Documents must be approved, updated, and used in daily operations — a system that stands up to external evaluations.

• A structure that continues even when roles change
  Smooth handovers. New staff can quickly become productive. A true indicator of organizational maturity.

• From Individual Reliance to System-Driven Operations                                            
  Breaking away from individual dependency takes time. Organizations must transform personal know-how into repeatable systems. Neuromagic supports you in turning this operational risk into a source of organizational strength.

If you worry that “Our operations rely too much on certain people…” that is the perfect moment to upgrade your system.

*For inquiries related to this article, please select “Roadmap Creation Support” in the contact formabove.