A resignation rarely hurts a small business because of the headcount, but often because of the knowledge. The position can be filled again. What the person has learned over the years, however, is often written down nowhere: the month-end closing with its quirks, the customer you always call first, the machine that only starts again with one particular trick.
This guide shows how to proceed systematically during the notice period: find out what would be lost, set priorities and record the most important things so that the successor can work with them.
The notice period is shorter than it looks
In Switzerland, unless agreed otherwise, the notice period is one month in the first year of service, two months from the second to the ninth year and three months after that (Art. 335c of the Swiss Code of Obligations). Employment contracts and collective labour agreements can set different periods.
In practice, less of that time is left:
- Remaining holiday is often taken during the notice period.
- Day-to-day business continues. The person leaving works normally until their last day.
- The successor is often not there yet. If they only start after the departure, there is no overlap at all.
- Garden leave or illness can reduce the shared time to zero.
So do not plan with three months, plan with a few weeks. And start on the day of the resignation, not in the last week.
Which knowledge gets lost?
Not everything a person knows is equally at risk. This distinction helps:
| Type | Example | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Procedures | Payroll run, month-end closing, server update | high if rare |
| Special cases | "With customer X, always call the branch first" | very high, almost never written down |
| Access | Bank, portals, supplier shops, domain | high, often tied to a personal address |
| Contacts | People to talk to at customers and suppliers | medium |
| Storage locations | Where the contracts are, which file is the current one | medium |
| Reasons | Why something is done this way | underestimated |
The daily procedures are not the most at risk — the successor sees those quickly. At risk are rare tasks (once a year) and special cases nobody mentions because they seem obvious to the person.
Securing knowledge in 6 steps
- Collect the tasks. In the first few days, sit down with the person and list everything they do. Calendars and emails from the last twelve months help, because they also show the yearly tasks: annual accounts, licence renewals, certificates, stocktaking.
- Assess. For each task, note how often it happens, who else can do it and what happens if it goes wrong.
- Prioritise. First comes what nobody else can do and is rare or critical. The successor will pick up frequent tasks in everyday work anyway.
- Show and write along. The person leaving demonstrates, the successor (or whoever takes over) writes it down, with photos or screenshots. Important: whoever takes over writes. That way you notice straight away where something is unclear, and the guide is in the language of the person who will need it later.
- Test while the person is still there. The successor carries out the task using only the guide. The person leaving watches, does not intervene and then adds what was missing. Then they approve the guide.
- Hand over access and contacts. Separately from the guides, see below.
A simple table is enough as a working list:
| Task | Frequency | Who else can do it | Priority | Guide | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll run | monthly | nobody | high | ☐ | ☐ |
| Prepare annual accounts | yearly | nobody | high | ☐ | ☐ |
| Write quotes | daily | Anna | low | — | — |
Access and passwords
Access credentials do not belong in guides. A guide gets passed on, printed and copied; a password in it can no longer be controlled. Instead:
- List all the access the person uses, including the accounts created "just quickly".
- Move passwords into a shared company password manager, not by email or on a note.
- Switch accounts to role addresses where possible (e.g. accounting@ instead of firstname@). Especially important for the domain, bank, government portals and suppliers.
- Do not forget two-factor devices. If an account is tied to their private phone, it is gone after they leave.
- On the last working day, deactivate personal access and change the passwords of shared accounts.
The guide only states which access is needed and where to find it: "Bank portal access: in the password manager under Finance".
When there is not enough time
Sometimes there is no shared time: garden leave, illness, a difficult relationship. Then a structured conversation of 60 to 90 minutes helps — better than nothing. Good questions for it:
- What do you do once a year, and when is it next due?
- With which customers or suppliers do you need to know something special?
- What would you tell your successor first?
- Where are the files you use most, and which of them is the current one?
- What has gone wrong before, and why?
Write the answers down immediately and turn them into guides in the days that follow. Record the conversation only with the person's consent.
Checklist for a resignation
- ☐ The person's tasks collected (including yearly tasks from the calendar)
- ☐ Sorted by priority: what can nobody else do?
- ☐ Successor or handover defined for each task
- ☐ Guides written for all high-priority tasks
- ☐ Each one tested by the successor and approved by the person leaving
- ☐ Special cases with customers and suppliers recorded
- ☐ Access in the password manager, accounts on role addresses
- ☐ Two-factor devices switched
- ☐ Storage locations known, outdated copies deleted
- ☐ On the last day: personal access deactivated, shared passwords changed
Better beforehand: holidays as a rehearsal
Knowledge is easiest to secure before anyone resigns. Holidays are a good opportunity: whoever is away for two weeks writes down the two or three procedures their stand-in needs. The stand-in works from them, and after the holiday whatever was missing is added. After a few holidays the most important things are written down, without it ever becoming a project.
How to structure a single guide well is explained in How to write work instructions.
Summary
With a resignation, what counts is the time, not the notice period. Start on the first day, deal with the rare and critical first, and let the successor write while the person leaving demonstrates and checks. Access belongs in a password manager, not in the guide.