An experienced employee knows more than the steps in a procedure. They know why a particular check matters, which exception changes the usual sequence, and what happened the last time the business tried something else.
Much of that never reaches a record. A transaction log can show that a shipment changed routes. It may not show that a storm made the alternative the better choice.
Records keep the decision, not the reasoning
When that reasoning stays with one person, a departure or a change of role leaves colleagues rebuilding decisions while they keep their own work moving. A replacement inherits the task without the context to make the same judgments.
Owners and operating leaders do better when they see these dependencies before a transition makes them visible.
Capture what can be captured
Asking experienced people to explain their decisions, their exceptions, and their history with earlier approaches produces useful material, such as operational documentation that records key steps along with the reasons for them.
Some knowledge is hard to put into words, and writing it down will not preserve everything. It does show what the business depends on.
That is the realistic goal. Capture shows what can be recorded, what still takes judgment, and what needs more learning, while there is still time to do it.