«Dear Successor, The Most Important Things Aren’t in the Handover Report”—A Letter on My Last Day of Work.» By Gramoz Lekaj, Senior Interim Manager, HR Unlimited AG

Our motto is “We come to leave.” Everyone writes about coming. But leaving is the real challenge. An interim assignment is successful when no one needs to call afterward—and that’s what we work toward from day one, not just on the last day. The following letter is fictional. The handover it describes, however, is real.

Dear Nadine,

The handover documentation is on the drive. Processes, deadlines, system accesses, open issues. Everything’s there, and it’s all up to date.

This letter is the other part—the things you only know because you were here for seven months.

Two People Who Are Worth Their Weight in Gold

Regula from Payroll has been here for nine years and knows every special case in the company. The cross-border commuter with withholding tax and days off. Family allowances for separated parents. The established expense reimbursement model for field staff. I’ve asked her at least thirty times in the past seven months. Not once was it in vain. She’s the best resource this company has.

Lea handles the long-term cases and works quietly. She flags issues early, documents them thoroughly, and comes up with a proposal. When a daily allowance case is in her hands, you can sleep soundly. She’s the real roadmap of the company. She’s not listed on the organizational chart.

The Calendar That’s Nowhere to Be Found

Changes for the payroll run are officially due by the 18th. Regula starts checking them on the 16th. Anyone who submits their changes by then will have a smooth month-end closing. Starting this year, we’ve been collecting the documentation for training allowances for those over 16 in June, rather than waiting until August. This has practically eliminated follow-up questions. And the monthly reporting used to require manual updates in Excel every time. Now the numbers come directly from the system—you pull them at the end of the month, and they’re accurate. The only thing that still takes up your time is verifying their validity.

What’s up?

Payroll account reconciliations have been switched to a monthly cycle and will be completed by August. Withholding tax calculations have been reconciled with all cantons. Reporting comes directly from the system. No more manual entries into Excel. And starting this year, the salary adjustment will no longer be applied retroactively but as of a specific effective date. That may sound like a technicality, but it’s the biggest relief for the payroll team all year: no back payments spanning several months, no corrected pay stubs, and no follow-up inquiries in April. And employees see the raise exactly where it belongs. We argued for this for a long time until it was finally approved.

Why I’m Leaving Even Though Things Are Going Well

On Tuesday, someone from senior management asked me if I’d like to stay. I was flattered. But my answer is still no.

An interim manager who becomes indispensable has failed in their mission. My success is measured by one number alone: how few questions end up with me instead of you after I leave. I’ve been working toward that number from day one.

You’re not taking over a mess. You’re taking over a well-organized HR department and a team that knows exactly where it stands.

Get in touch if you want, but I’m pretty sure you won’t have to.

Best regards,

Gramoz

*P.S.: The coffee on the second floor is better. You really can’t find it anywhere else. 😊

Do you know that moment? When a handoff in HR or payroll either preserves knowledge or destroys it?

A successful interim assignment starts with a quick solution. And it ends with an HR team that keeps running without us. That’s exactly our goal: not just to fill the gap, but to close it in a way that ensures it stays closed. That’s exactly why you should contact me directly or someone else on our team: https://hr-unlimited.ch/de/ueber-hru/#Team. We’ll step in whenever you have gaps—anytime, right away!

HR Unlimited AG is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, headquartered in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been providing interim management services both domestically and internationally since 2002. HR Unlimited AG consists of Andreas Biel, Andreas Gnepf, Gramoz Lekaj, Kadir Kirmizitas, Natalia Minnig, Fabio Feller, Myriam Landtwing, Stefan Binder, Neva Ferro Casagrande, Marion Bailey, Tanja Biel, Natasha Wäfler, and a large, qualified pool of interim managers with whom we have a personal relationship.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)